Secrets of Midland Heights
Secrets of Midland Heights is an American nighttime soap opera which ran on CBS from December 6, 1980 to January 24, 1981 for eight episodes. Produced after the success of Dallas, Lorimar Productions, likewise, produced the new serial for CBS.
| Secrets of Midland Heights | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Linda Hamilton Lorenzo Lamas Doran Clark Linda Hamilton Jim Youngs Bibi Besch |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (2 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Lorimar Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | December 6, 1980 – January 24, 1981 |
Secrets of Midland Heights was aimed at the teen audience, and featured romantic triangles and secrets among the teens and their parents who populated a fictional midwestern college town called Midland Heights. Aired on Saturday night at 10 PM EST/9 PM Central, the series never found an audience and was canceled after eight episodes.
The show resembled a dark, 1980s-style Peyton Place, both dealing with hidden secrets and scandalous affairs in a small town. Lisa Rogers (Linda Hamilton) carried on with college jock Burt Carroll (Lorenzo Lamas) while also seeing fraternity jerk Mark (Bill Thornbury); good girl heiress Ann Dulles (Doran Clark) secretly dated high school dropout John (Jim Youngs);[1] Holly Wheeler (played first by Linda Grovernor and then by Marilyn Jones) wanted to lose her virginity to her boyfriend Teddy Welsh (Daniel Zippi), but the teens were shocked to discover her mother Dorothy (Bibi Besch) was having an affair with Teddy's father Nathan (Robert Hogan).[2]
There were also power struggles between the wealthy Millington family, consisting of leading citizen Margaret and her son Guy, and the equally wealthy and powerful Wheelers. The Millington family had been one of the founding families of Midland Heights.
The show was produced by David Jacobs, Lee Rich and Michael Filerman, all of whom were connected in production to other serial dramas like Flamingo Road and Knots Landing.
When Secrets of Midland Heights was pulled from the schedule, the producers stated that the show would be retooled and make a return in some form. Many of the same performers and production staff returned to ABC the following season in the different serial King's Crossing, which similarly did not remain on-air very long.[3]
After the demise of the series, actor Lorenzo Lamas (Burt Carroll) would join the cast of the soap, Falcon Crest playing Lance Cumson, the grandson of the series main schemer, Angela Channing (Jane Wyman).
Cast
- Dorothy Wheeler ... Bibi Besch
- Guy Millington ... Jordan Christopher
- Ann Dulles ... Doran Clark[4]
- Lisa Rogers ... Linda Hamilton
- Nathan Welsh ... Robert Hogan
- Holly Wheeler ... Marilyn Jones / Linda Grovernor
- Burt Carroll ... Lorenzo Lamas
- Martin Wheeler ... William Jordan
- Calvin Richardson ... Mark Pinter
- Margaret Millington ... Martha Scott
- Teddy Welsh ... Daniel Zippi
- John Gray ... Jim Youngs
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Founder's Day" | Robert Lewis | David Jacobs | December 6, 1980 |
| 2 | "Decisions" | Gabrielle Beaumont | Story by : Caroline Elias Teleplay by : Caroline Elias & Frederic Hunter | December 13, 1980 |
| 3 | "The Searchers" | Fernando Lamas | David Jacobs | December 20, 1980 |
| 4 | "Hooverville" | Alexander Singer | Elizabeth Quicksilver | December 27, 1980 |
| 5 | "Letting Go" | Rick Rosenthal | Margaret Schibi | January 3, 1981 |
| 6 | "The Race" | Fernando Lamas | Story by : Will Manus Teleplay by : Will Manus & Linda Elstad | January 10, 1981 |
| 7 | "The Birthday Party" | Jeff Bleckner | Elizabeth Clark | January 17, 1981 |
| 8 | "Facing Facts" | Nicholas Sgarro | Jack Turley | January 24, 1981 |
| 9 | "Reunion of Strangers" | TBA | Story by : Naomi Foner Teleplay by : Naomi Foner & Nancy Ann Miller | UNAIRED |
| 10 | "Heritage of Sorrows" | TBA | Mitzi Marvin | UNAIRED |
References
- TV Guide (September 13–19, 1980). TV Guide Fall Preview Special Issue. ASIN B008J1IQ0S.
- Copeland, Mary Ann (1991). Soap Opera History. Publications International. p. 217. ISBN 0-88176-933-9.
- Mary Ann Copeland (1991). Soap Opera History. Mallard Press. ISBN 0792454510.
- Boyer, Peter J. (September 6, 1998). "New Soap Dreadful, But Could Become Hit". Pennsylvania, Indiana. The Indiana Gazette. p. 24. Retrieved March 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.