Peyton Place

I have just seen episode 514 of this remarkable series. I first started watching in 1968 when it was on daily at a time when I was making my way home from college. If I got on the right bus I would sometimes get to see the second half of the programme on two days of the week and on Fridays when we finished early I saw a full programme! During my summer and other holidays I could get to see a full weeks worth if I had the right temping jobs - I became a real groupie! It has always been my favourite series and I always rated other soaps against it, the only two coming close were "Dallas" before it became silly and "Falcon Crest." Then when we got cable TV [30 years after the original screening] I saw the series again from about half-way through - missing again, Constances' wedding! Then at the end of the run the series was restarted again and after the first episode the channel was pulled! That was about 10 years ago - finally I have bought the set on DVD and have just watched it all again! At a rate of about 4 episodes a night and 10 a day at weekends, it was a most satisfying experience! Rubbish ending, but at least the mop-up film tidied up the areas that had never been resolved in the series and the series, although left up in the air had obvious story-lines that did not need a conclusion - other than who killed Fred Russell - my money's on the blonde kid!

Mia Farrow (September) "Allison MacKenzie," a young woman who worked in a cute bookstore owned by Dorothy Malone (Basic Instinct) "Constance MacKenzie Carson," who was her mother. Allison started dating Ryan O'Neal (Zero Effect) "Rodney Harrington" and I used to love the series. Allison had really long beautiful hair and was innocent. I watched the series, dubbed and in black and white. There were people in the series that became very famous, and others some somewhat famous, such as: Gena Rowlands (Hope Floats) Mia Farrow, Ryan O'Neal (The Thief Who Came to Dinner) Ed Nelson(There's Something About Mary), Mariette Hartley (TV commercials for Polaroid cameras with James Garner, Marnie), Leslie Nielsen (Mr. Magoo), Barbara Parkins (Valley of the Dolls). The series and the actors were nominated for several awards such as Golden Globe, Emmy.

I understand the pilot followed the film and book somewhat. The Cross family disappeared when the series arrived in 1964. Rodney did not have a brother in the book. Norman and Evelyn Page and Evelyn were eliminated. Michael Rossi became a Dr. instead of a Principal of a high school. Norman became Rodneys brother in the series. Constance didn't have a husband and she ran a dress shop not a bookstore. The series does not follow the films, the only resemblance to the films are SOME of the characters names. I will take the films over the series any day !!!!!!!! Dorothy Malone and Mia Farrow made the series, when they left "PEYTON PLACE", it went really down hill quick !!!!!!

PEYTON PLACE is the first and has remained to this day (arguably) the best-written prime time soap opera with consistent quality across its 5-year run and 514 episodes.

Many people have utter contempt for prime time soaps and rightly so - it is a very difficult genre to get right and TV history is littered with a long list of instant flops or serials that got their magic formula right for a while, only to quickly succumb to contrived plot-driven storytelling, that many erroneously believe is the expected standard for prime time soap opera.

But PEYTON PLACE sets the bar much higher, which is remarkable given its pioneer status. It is a beautifully filmed unusually cinematic gem of a TV series that combines the slick glamour of the original movies with edgy B-movie grittiness, especially in its somewhat more compelling first black-and-white half (the first 267 episodes).

The original book and the movies are used as a starting point the 1960s series wonderfully expands on with certain changes, depicting a fictional New England small-town world with deliciously knotty almost incestuous relationships among its many characters, where a chance meeting among any two people is invariably fascinating.

The stories begin with leisurely-paced character-driven approach, but they are all ultimately built to riveting and therefore satisfying twists and conclusions. The characterizations are rounded and non-judgmental.

As it is always the case with shows that succeed, the casting is the key - Mia Farrow is perfectly cast as a shy and dreamy Alison Mackenzie as are Ryan O'Neal as a cool yet sensitive Rodney Harrington or Barbara Perkins as an ambitious and semi-trashy Betty Anderson. Movie star Dorothy Malone with her fluttery eyelashes and breathy delivery is a great choice as the town's glamorous, but humble bookstore owner Constance Mackanzie.

PEYTON PLACE also demonstrates the ability to successfully expand its fictional world and include previously unseen characters and places, folding them seamlessly into its rich back story as well as the ongoing present day narrative.

There is a cast shake-up every 30 or so episodes and many fascinating new arrivals such as the town's bitter young man Stephen Cord, the 19th century-style tyrant Martin Peyton (who literally owns the town) or his glamorous sharp-tongued housekeeper Hannah Cord. A number of actors who went on to achieve great success later on - for instance, Leslie Nielsen or Richard Dreyfuss - can be seen in early stages of their careers.

Unlike many TV series, PEYTON PLACE and its coastal setting have a strong awareness of seasons - it begins during a sultry Indian summer, moves forward in time to an eventful winter (during which it snows for a solid three months), before we suddenly jump forward to spring, to an unexpected wedding. The switch to color midway through the series alters the tone somewhat as we enter the groovy late 60s.

Only the first 64 episodes have been released on DVD, so those who wish to watch this brilliant series in its entirety will not find all of its 514 episodes in legitimate places. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

This show was without a doubt one of the first prime time soap operas in the history of television. The series upon its original broadcast was the first to aired twice a week during its entire five-year run. Every 514 telecasts were original episodes in which 182 episodes of its first two seasons were telecast in black and white from September 15,1964 until September 7,1966. 332 episodes for Seasons 3 thru 6 were in color from September 12,1966 until June 2,1969. The series aired on Monday and Wednesday nights in prime- time for ABC-TV from September 15, 1964 until the final episode on June 2, 1969. The executive producers were Paul Monash, along with Ben Brady and Irma Phillips along with Everett Chambers and Richard Goldstone for Twentieth Century-Fox Television. William Self was in charge of production. The show's sponsors throughout it's run was the Chrysler Corporation, The R.J. Reynolds Corporation and General Foods Company.

This show was a must see because for one you'll never what is about to occur or happened the next and it was always left viewers in a cliffhanger until either tomorrow or next week for the continuation of the story. When the show aired on ABC-TV on September 15, 1964,viewers got the chance to recognized some of the characters who were in fact behind the drama and scandal that was in fact Peyton Place,but in other words,the series picked up where the first two installments of the movie versions,"Peyton Place"(1957),and its sequel,"Return To Peyton Place" (1961)left off. In the TV series though,it was in two parts where one part would play on one night,and the next night it would have the conclusion and so forth. On November 5,1965 the series expanded its format to three times a week (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights)a run that would continue until the end of Season 2.

A selected who's who of top-list Hollywood's best got top billing within this series which included Dorothy Malone, Leslie Nielsen, Ryan O' Neal, Gena Rowlands,and an unknown actress named Mia Farrow who got her start on this series. Mia Farrow was with the series during it's first two seasons(1964-1966)and after her stint went on to become a huge Hollywood star. As the series went along more guest stars would make weekly appearances. This was a series that tackled some the issues of the day and had viewers coming back for more.

During its entire run only actors Ed Nelson, Barbara Parkins, and Christopher Connelly along with Tim O'Connor were with the series throughout its entire run. All of that change when the show made the transition to color for Season 3 on September 12,1966. In the fall of 1968(Season 4), African-American actors and writers were hired for the series and for the first time the show would have its first black family moving into Peyton Place which were played by Percy Rodriguez and Ruby Dee and their college bound son played by a youthful Glynn Truman. The show had it all....blackmail,murder,jealously,envy,and prejudices all within a half hour which went to airing twice a week for Seasons 2 thru 4 but during its final season was cut back to a once a week format due to its ratings that were beginning to declined until the show's final episode and the last episode in the series on June 2, 1969 after more than five seasons and 514 episodes. The series that eventually replaced "Peyton Place" original prime-time run was another prime-time soap that ABC would bring in steady ratings was also based on a 1964 theatrical picture titled " Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers" that lasted 15 episodes when it premiered in the "Peyton Place" time slot on September 22, 1969 until January 12, 1970. *This commentary was revised on August 15, 2014 to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.