Passions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Passions
Network	NBC
Creator(s)	James E. Reilly
Executive producer(s)	Lisa de Cazotte
Head writer(s)	James E. Reilly
Senior cast member(s)	Galen Gering, Lindsay Hartley, Liza Huber, James Hyde, Brook Kerr, Ben Masters, Juliet Mills, Tracey Ross, Eva Tamargo, Kim Johnston Ulrich, Rodney Van Johnson, McKenzie Westmore
Running time	60 minutes
Premiere date	July 5, 1999
No. of episodes	1969 (April 6, 2007)
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Passions is an American television serial created by veteran writer James E. Reilly. It debuted on NBC on July 5, 1999, replacing the long running soap opera Another World, and its final airdate on NBC is now expected to be September 7, 2007.

In the beginning, Passions centered largely around horror-oriented themes; it now routinely uses drama and comedy instead. Passions follows the various romantic and supernatural adventures of the residents of Harmony, a fictional New England hamlet.

On May 26, 2006, NBC announced it would renew the program for its eighth season, but the renewal also brought along significant budget cuts.

Though plagued since its inception by low overall Nielsen Ratings, Passions has historically been top-rated in key demographics. For example, during the week of January 1 through January 5, 2007 the show rose to a first-place tie in the women 18-34 category (a position it had previously held on its own for the week of June 13 though June 17, 2005). Passions was also the week's #1 daytime series outright among females 12-17, 12-24 and 18-24 ^[1].

Passions will not be renewed for a ninth season as a result of NBC's decision to extend The Today Show to a fourth hour ^[2]. This move leaves no place for Passions in NBC's daytime lineup, as the serial's timeslot will be released to local affiliates to make up for the loss of syndicated or locally-based lifestyle programs in the mid-morning slot ^[3]. Cast and crew were informed of the cancellation during the morning of January 16, 2007; an official announcement from NBC came the next day on January 17, 2007^[4], stating "Given the show’s loyal fan base and the tremendous value of the Passions brand, we are actively pursuing alternative platforms for the program, and will have an announcement about that in the near future."^[5]. According to Variety, it is believed that NBC will seek "a way to keep the show alive somewhere other than the network," such as a cable channel or an internet platform ^[6].

According to a March 19, 2007 TVGuide.com article, NBC Studios is currently in negotiations with DIRECTV to take Passions there when the series' run on the NBC network ends. The article also adds:

Nevertheless, NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly recently offered us hope for Passions' future. "We are going to be looking very, very seriously at keeping [Passions] alive," the exec told reporters at TCA's winter press tour. "The fact is, there are loyal viewers of this show who love it and show up every day. And in a perfect world, we'd like to keep the brand alive. There may be another network. You know, I don't think it's a broadcast network, but there may be another cable network that wants to get in business with us and have some sort of on-air presence for the show."^[7]

Contents 1 Storylines 2 History 3 Trademarks 4 Theme song and opening sequence 5 Hidden Passions 6 Reruns and other media 7 Cast 7.1 Current cast members 7.2 Recurring cast members 7.3 Comings and goings 7.4 Deceased cast members 7.5 Historical cast information 8 Awards 9 Breaking the fourth wall 10 Promotion and product placement 11 Behind the scenes 12 Controversy 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

[edit] Storylines

Major storylines throughout the soap's run have included:

• Theresa's (Lindsay Hartley) schemes to win Ethan (Travis Schuldt, Eric Martsolf) from his wife, Gwen (Liza Huber, Natalie Zea, then Huber again);
• Kay's (Taylor Anne Mountz, Gina Marie May, Deanna Wright, Heidi Mueller) desire to be with her cousin Charity's (Molly Stanton, Kristina Sisco) boyfriend, Miguel (Jesse Metcalfe, Adrian Bellani), and her current inability to choose between Miguel and now-husband Fox Crane, (Justin Hartley, Mark Cameron Wystrach)
• Tabitha's (Juliet Mills) desire to wreak havoc upon the citizens of Harmony.
• Eve's (played by Tracey Ross) affair with former Crane heir Julian (Ben Masters) and the search for their long-lost son;
• Whitney's (Brook Kerr) romantic relationship with Chad (Donn Swaby, Charles Divins); who is having a secret gay affair with a man named Vincent (Phillip Jeanmarie)
• Ivy's (Kim Johnston Ulrich) schemes to win back her first love Sam (James Hyde) from his wife, Grace (Dana Sparks);
• Sheridan (McKenzie Westmore) and Luis's (Galen Gering) continued separation from each other, including her marriages to his brother (Christopher Douglas) and Chris (Adrian Wilson), and Luis' relationship with her niece, Fancy (Emily Harper)
• Alistair's (David Bailey, John Reilly) continuing efforts to meddle in the lives of the citizens of Harmony, and recently his quest for ultimate power, including the impersonation of a monk to lure sixteen people from Harmony to Rome as pawns in his scheme

[edit] History

Passions debuted with major fanfare (Reilly had been credited for a large surge in the ratings for Days of our Lives) but also some controversy (lead heroine Sheridan's best friend was the late Princess Diana, and, in flashbacks, Sheridan spoke to Diana on the phone right before she was killed). Originally, the viewers of Another World largely held a vendetta against the new show as the stories told were markedly different from the ones they were used to.

For much of the first three to four years of the series, supernatural elements such as witches, warlocks, and closet doors leading to Hell were major plot points. One central character was Charity (Molly Stanton, Kristina Sisco), a saccharine young woman who would regularly become possessed by the "forces of evil" and turn into "Evil Charity", "Zombie Charity", etc. NBC even made a deal with the owners of Bewitched to allow "Dr. Bombay" to appear in scenes with witch Tabitha Lenox (not to be confused with Bewitched's Tabitha Stevens). "Dr. Bombay" appeared on three occasions, but Bewitched nixed any future visits; however, when Tabitha had a child in 2003, she named the baby Endora. Tabitha also stated on an episode that her mother was named Samantha and that her father was a mortal named Darren. Recently, a new storyline brought back some of these elements with the introduction of the character Siren, a mermaid that Endora brought to life and made human to keep Kay from leaving Fox for Miguel.

Over time, Passions moved away from supernatural elements and began to concentrate on the usual array of love triangles and returns from the dead. One of their most popular storylines was the interracial romance between filthy rich letch Julian Crane (Ben Masters) and icy doctor Eve Russell (Tracey Ross). Their '70s love affair produced a child (see The Evian Child), but Julian's father Alistair demanded they break up so Julian could marry a more "suitable" (white) woman. Eve married former tennis star TC (Rodney Van Johnson) and had two daughters, Whitney (Brook Kerr) and Simone (Lena Cardwell, Chrystee Pharris-Larkins, then Cathy Jenéen Doe). Years later, the revelations of Julian and Eve's love as well as the news that Eve had caused the car accident which ended TC's tennis career led TC to dump Eve and take up with her half-sister, Liz. Julian, who had never stopped loving Eve, reunited with her after giving up his boozing and adulterous ways. During the summer of 2005, TC and Eve's youngest daughter Simone came out as a lesbian. Passions made daytime history by being the only serial to show two women (Simone and Rae) in bed making love. Most recently, Chad was revealed to be the child of Alistair and Liz, allowing him and Whitney to get married and raise their son Miles. The next major storyline starts on October 10th entitled "Passions: Tabloid Truth" This is another interactive storyline not unlike "Passions: Red" and "Passions: Vendetta" During the 12-week umbrella story we will see the some of the shows biggest secrets revealed via tabloid reporter J. T. Cornell.

[edit] Trademarks

Over its run, Passions has become widely known for its numerous parodies of pop culture. One fan favorite was the 2003 spoof of the 2002 film Chicago, in which character Edna Wallace fantasized that she, her demented daughter, Beth, Charlie, and her orangutan caretaker, Precious, had been incarcerated for the kidnapping of Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald and her unborn son, Marty. In this fantasy, the three women sang "I Ain't Sorry", a parody of "Cell Block Tango". The song was performed in the style of musical theatre, and was simultaneously mocked and adored by fans. Another spoof popular with the fans was the 2006 Bollywood spoof, in which Gwen dreamt of a life in India with her husband, Ethan, far away from his ex-fiancée, Theresa. The original song accompanying this spoof, "Love is Ecstasy", was a hit with fans, and NBC even put both a video clip and a downloadable mp3 version of the song on their website. The show has also featured storylines and sequences paying homage to or parodying films and books like Titanic, Brokeback Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Wizard of Oz and The Da Vinci Code.

One of Passions' most notorious trademarks is the false Dream Sequence. Often times, the show will play out an outlandish event, or explode a huge secret viewers have longtime been waiting to see, only to immediately after go back and reveal it all to be a day dream. This dream sequence can last anywhere from a few scenes to a few episodes, typically beginning without warning. On Passions, often a dream sequence will begin with no visual cues of any sort what so ever. Oftentimes going as far to include contradictory elements to give the dream sequence credence. (For instance, another character may show up within the dream wearing an outfit, or revealing information that the daydreamer had no possible way of knowing about beforehand.) While a veteran viewer can usually spot a fake dream sequence once it's neared its climax, the fake dream sequence tend to cause confusion amongst the more casual viewer who may not get to catch the revelation that it was all dream.

Roman Catholicism and its principles figure greatly into the show's themes. Several characters, including Grace Bennett and Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald, are portrayed as being particularly devout Catholics, often praying with a rosary. Father Lonigan, the blind priest, has the ability to sense evil, causing lots of trouble for Tabitha over the years. Many theological debates on the importance of Catholic marriage vows have arisen over the years as well, as various characters attempt to divorce or remarry.

Another trademark of the serial is its preoccupation with the concepts of fate and soulmates. Since the show's first episode in 1999, the writers have pushed several couples onto the fans, claiming that they are "fated", and, with few short-lived exceptions, have failed to mix up any of the relationships. Some of the early "fated" couples were considered to be those of Luis and Sheridan, Ethan and Theresa, Miguel and Charity, and Chad and Whitney. Common indications of a couple's status as "fated" include (but are not necessarily limited to) Tabitha's desire to split said couple up, an unshakeable love that survives numerous break-ups and relationships with third parties, and/or an ability of one character, or perhaps both characters, to "sense" when his/her "soulmate" is in danger.

Likely due to Passions' school-aged target audience, the show often cooks up large, wild storylines for the summer, which often, but not always, take place in a city outside of Harmony. In 1999, a carnival came to town as characters were introduced; 2000 saw Luis and Sheridan traveling to New Mexico in search of his then-missing father, Martin Fitzgerald, and 2001 witnessed the failed double-wedding of popular couples Luis and Sheridan and Ethan and Theresa, and their subsequent journey to Bermuda, where Sheridan apparently perished in a boat explosion and Theresa wound up married to Ethan's ex-stepfather, Julian Crane. In 2002, Julian and Timmy set out on a journey in the magical land of Oz as Theresa was "executed" for Julian's "murder"; 2003 saw six characters (Chad, Whitney, Fox, Theresa, Ethan, and Gwen, collectively known as the "LA Six") travel to Los Angeles for the summer (and into October), while, in 2004, Luis and Sheridan traveled to Puerto Arena, Mexico, to retrieve his younger sister, Paloma (and ended up finding his missing father, Martin, and her "dead" mother, Katherine). The plot of the summer in 2005 was a deadly tsumani, which destroyed much of Harmony and resulted in the death of James's mother, Maureen, while 2006 saw the extravagant Passions Vendetta plot, in which Alistair lured seventeen people (Whitney, Simone, Paloma, Chad, Ethan, Theresa, Gwen, Lena, Spike, Jessica, Maya, Noah, Esme, Fancy, Luis, Beth, and Marty) to Rome, where he planned to take over the world with a chalice stolen from the Pope's private chambers; the plot saw the death of Lena, Maya, Alistair, Beth, and Marty.

Another recurring theme on Passions is sexual violence. Many storylines, especially through the last half of Passions' run, have included rape as a plot point. The use of rape is so prevalent, in fact, that nearly every major character on the show has either committed or been victim to a rape, including a handful of characters who have both been raped and have sexually assaulted someone else. In 2006 for instance, a storyline was featured where Crane patriarch Alistair Crane made deals involving sex as payment with his wife Theresa, but then would subsequently rape her if she tried to renege. And in the summer of that year, Passions introduced the mermaid, Siren, who had the ability to force men to sleep with her simply by singing her "Siren song." Passions has even begun storylines involving double rapes, where couples are forced to sleep together by outside forces; in the fall of 2006, when police officers Fancy Crane and Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald were busted on an undercover assignment, the couple was forced to shoot a porn video for a mob boss or else be killed. Oddly enough, men on the show are equally as likely to be violated as women. In 2006 alone the following characters were all victims of a sexual assault: Julian Crane, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane, Jessica Bennett, Fancy Crane, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, Fox Crane, Ethan Winthrop, and Katherine Barrett Crane.

One unfortunate trademark for Passions has been eerie deaths. In 2002, Josh Ryan Evans, who played Tabitha's extremely popular doll sidekick Timmy, died while on medical leave, just as scenes were airing where Timmy died in the hospital and went to Heaven. Passions had planned to revive the character in a few months once Evans returned from his own surgery, but instead had to write Timmy out. After five years of evil Crane patriarch Alistair being heard but never having his face seen (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), Passions finally cast the role with longtime daytime vet David Bailey. Bailey was a hit with the cast as well as the fans, but on Thanksgiving Day 2004, he drowned in his pool, just as scenes were airing where various characters tried to kill Alistair, who actually suffered clinical death before being magically revived by Tabitha. Again, the viewers and the producers were stunned, but the show had no choice but to recast the pivotal role (with John Reilly).

[edit] Theme song and opening sequence

The theme song for Passions is titled "Breathe," performed by Jane French and written by French and John Henry Kreitler. A long version of this theme was also released but was never used on the show.

The opening title sequence used since the show's premiere in 1999, features shots of the city of Harmony and its landmarks. The sequence opens and closes with the show's logo in an italic typeface and in an Arial Black typeface in generic caps posted in front of the cursive form of the title. From time to time, the opening theme is shortened to the last two verses to fit in extra scene time.

Passions is one of the few American serials that, with the exception of occasional abbreviated versions of the intro, has not changed its opening theme since the series debut.

On October 9, 2006, Passions introduced a lighter version of the theme song "Breathe", though the background images remain the same.

[edit] Hidden Passions

In January 2001, HarperEntertainment released Hidden Passions: Secrets from the Diaries of Tabitha Lenox, an inside look into the history of Passions involving all the major characters, written from the viewpoint of Tabitha Lenox. A storyline involving the character of Tabitha and Timmy and the promotion of this book was aired on the show. During this time when the show enjoyed its peak popularity, the book even reached #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list. The novel was billed as being canonical, but the televised canon has diverged significantly from the novel since that time. For example, Rachel Barrett presumably did die in a boating accident decades earlier, and the death scene of her sister, Katherine, who was recently revealed to be alive, is included in the novel. In addition, the book portrayed Eve Johnson Russell as the daughter of a wealthy society couple in Boston, but the show has more recently revealed an upbringing in the rural South.

[edit] Reruns and other media

The Sci Fi Channel (which is owned by NBC) began airing Passions from its first episode starting February 13, 2006 [1]. The reruns had originally been announced to begin February 6, 2006 [2]. These repeat presentations on SciFi were slightly edited, with the background music and popular songs substituted in many cases. Due to low ratings, as of May 25, 2006 the reruns were taken off the air.^{[citation needed]}

On August 15, 2006, Passions became the first daytime drama to make full episodes available for download and purchase from the popular online music store iTunes. On November 6, 2006, the show also became the first daytime drama to make full episodes available for free viewing via streaming on NBC.com.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Current cast members

U.S. daytime soap operas currently on the air:

All My Children (ABC)

As the World Turns (CBS)

The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)

Days of our Lives (NBC)

General Hospital (ABC)

Guiding Light (CBS)

One Life to Live (ABC)

Passions (NBC)

The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Edit this box

Actor	Character	Status
Silvana Arias	Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald	2004-
Adrian Bellani	Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald	(#2) 2006-
Charles Divins	Chad Harris-Crane	(#2) 2002-
Cathy Jeneen Doe	Simone Russell	(#3) 2004-
Daphnée Duplaix Samuel	Valerie Davis	2004-
Dylan Fergus	Noah Bennett	2005-
Galen Gering	Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald	1999-2005, 2006-
Emily Harper	Fancy Crane	2005-
Lindsay Hartley	Theresa Casey	1999-
James Hyde	Sam Bennett	1999-
Brook Kerr	Whitney Russell Harris-Crane	1999-
Eric Martsolf	Ethan Winthrop	(#2) 2002-
Ben Masters	Julian Crane	1999-
Juliet Mills	Tabitha Lenox	1999-
Heidi Mueller	Kay Crane	(#3) 2003-
Tracey Ross	Dr. Eve Russell	1999-
James Stevenson	Jared Casey	2006-
Danica Stewart	Jessica Bennett	(#3) 2003-
Eva Tamargo	Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald	1999-
Kim Johnston Ulrich	Ivy Winthrop	1999-
McKenzie Westmore	Sheridan Boothe	1999-
Adrian Wilson	Chris Boothe	2005-
Mark Cameron Wystrach	Fox Crane	(#2) 2006-

[edit] Recurring cast members

Actor	Character
Nicole Cox	Endora Lenox
Andrea Evans	Rebecca Hotchkiss Crane
Bruce French	Father Lonigan
Siena Goines	Valerie Davis (Temp. Recast)
Phillip Jeanmarie	Vincent Clarkson
Christopher Maleki	Herbert "Spike" Lester
Abby and Emma McCoy	Maria Lopez-Fitzgerald
Tess Alexandra Parker	Carla (Charity Imposter)
Camille and Kate Schwary	Jane Winthrop
Colton Shires	Ethan Crane
Kristina Sisco	Charity Standish
Seth Stern	James Boothe
Rodney Van Johnson	T.C. Russell
Sinqua Walls and Mekhai Wilson	Miles Harris-Crane

[edit] Comings and goings

Actor	Character	Date
Tonja Walker-Davidson	Grace Nancier	Temp. Returns April 11
Roscoe Born	Head Warden	Temp. Debuts April 23
Liza Huber	Gwen Winthrop	Returns May

[edit] Deceased cast members

Actor	Character	Year of Death
David Bailey	Alistair Crane	2004
Owen Bush	Orville Perkins	2001
Josh Ryan Evans	Timmy Lenox	2002

[edit] Historical cast information

For a full listing of performers by role, see List of Passions characters

[edit] Awards

For a full listing of award wins and nominations, see List of Passions awards

Passions has been honored with numerous awards and nominations during its run, including Daytime Emmy Awards, Imagen Foundation Awards, and a GLAAD Media Award.

[edit] Breaking the fourth wall

With its humor and occasional tongue-in-cheek tone, Passions has been known to "break the fourth wall," or somehow call attention to the fact that the show is fictional. In an early episode, Kay, Simone and Zombie Charity were seen actually watching Passions. In a 2001 episode Theresa was giving birth while stuck in a cabin with Ethan and Gwen; she had a hallucination in which the three of them did a dance together and sang the show's theme. In 2004, TC made a reference to "that crazy soap after Days of our Lives", which in most areas airs before Passions. In one episode Fancy Crane used a magazine to hide her face from Noah; the magazine had an image of the then-unseen Rachel Barrett with the sentence "Who is she?" under the Passions logo. Fancy later commented that serials "are just like life; you never know what's going to happen!" In an early 2006 episode, Ivy and assistant Valerie were searching on the internet for Miguel to bring him back to Harmony and interfere with Fox and Kay's relationship. They couldn't find him, but Valerie tracked down his last place of employment: he was last seen working as a gardener in some suburban town on a street called Wisteria Lane. At that time, Jesse Metcalfe (ex-Miguel) was playing a gardener on the prime-time serial Desperate Housewives, which takes place on a street called Wisteria Lane. Similarly, in the August 10, 2006 episode, Theresa commented that her office wasn't like a NBC daytime serial, and that she wouldn't hire somebody just because he looked like Jesse Metcalfe (who had portrayed her brother Miguel from 1999 until 2004). A similar inside joke occurred when the character Fancy had a dream that she was a cheerleader; in real life, Fancy's portrayer Emily Harper was a "Laker Girl" (cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers) from 2000 to 2003.

[edit] Promotion and product placement

Passions has been known to "promote" other NBC programming within its storylines, and to incorporate commercial products into the plot in a promotional tactic known as product placement.

In a 2004 episode, TC watched an NBC ad for Days of our Lives on his TV, and went on to praise the writers of Days of our Lives for coming up with such good storylines; Days, at that time, was under the helm of James E. Reilly, head writer of Passions. In the September 4, 2006, episode, Fox was sucked into a black hole; he then told Tabitha that it was the kind of black hole that one gets sucked into on the Sci Fi Channel, which was the channel on which Passions repeats aired in 2006. Tabitha then told him stick with NBC (Passions' network). In an episode later in September 2006, Siren tried to get Miguel into bed by singing her Siren's song. Miguel told her that she should not audition for America's Got Talent. In another episode, Tabitha talked about The Biggest Loser season finale, which was also aired on NBC. A more recent episode featured characters watching a trailer for the 2007 Diane Keaton film Because I Said So (produced by Universal Studios, which, like NBC, is owned by General Electric).

The real-life 2001 release of the novel Hidden Passions was incorporated into the storyline as a book written by character Tabitha Lenox. For a time, Jessica Bennett was an Avon mark saleswoman, and more recently the show featured Johnson & Johnson's K-Y Jelly personal lubricant.

[edit] Behind the scenes

Justin Hartley (ex-Fox) and Lindsay Hartley (Theresa) met on the show, and married in real life in 2004. They have a daughter, Isabella, born in 2004.

In a case of déjà vu, Juliet Mills' character Tabitha brought a doll to life in a 2005 episode. The doll was none other than Phoebe Figalilly from Nanny and the Professor, the sitcom in which Mills played the aforementioned character. Her real-life daughter Melissa Caulfield played the Phoebe role.

The characters Joyce Summers and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are fans of Passions. However, the Spike from Buffy has no explicit connection to Spike from Passions. Passions has also been mentioned a couple of times on the Australian night-time serial Home and Away by some of the characters who have said that they will be or have watched an episode.

McKenzie Westmore is the daughter of Michael Westmore, an Emmy- and Academy Award-winning makeup artist.

Immediately prior to stepping into the role of Kay in 2003, Heidi Mueller appeared on the first season of the reality show Who Wants to Marry My Dad? as one of the four kids who selected from several women to be a wife for their father in 2003.

In an episode of the TV series Charmed, Piper Halliwell sits in bed watching a clip of Tabitha from Passions "wreaking havoc on all of Harmony."

[edit] Controversy

When it premiered in 1999, Passions featured a controversial storyline in which Sheridan Crane was identified as a close friend of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. In the storyline, Sheridan recalled speaking to Diana on the phone immediately prior to the 1997 car accident which took the Princess' life. Sheridan also had a similar accident in the same Paris tunnel, and spoke to a "guardian Angel Diana" who urged her to fight to survive. ^[8]

In 2003, Passions submitted a trained orangutan named BamBam, who had been portraying the recurring role of Precious, for a Daytime Emmy Award. Precious was the non-speaking live-in nurse and caregiver for elderly Edna Wallace (Kathleen Noone), and held an unrequited love for Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald (depicted in elaborate fantasy sequences). In early 2004, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which administers the awards, disallowed the entry, with the following statement:

Our ruling is based on the belief that the Academy must draw a line of distinction between animal characters that aren't capable of speaking parts and human actors whose personal interpretation in character portrayal creates nuance and audience engagement that uniquely qualifies those performers for consideration of television's highest honor.

[edit] See also

• List of Passions awards
• List of Passions characters

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Passions at NBC.com
• Passions at the Internet Movie Database
• Rotten.com essay on Passions
• TV Series Finale/Passions - cancellation details, possibilities of continuation and petition
• CraneHeadquarters - Snarky recaps and reviews