Top 11 Aaron Spelling Productions (A Serious and Scholarly List)
One of the pioneering geniuses of television, producer Aaron Spelling, has passed away. Although he didn’t produce the greatest series in television history (The O.C.) it is hard to imagine it without his pioneering efforts. Scholars (okay, one scholar, me) have described “The O. C.” as taking the adults from Melrose Place, giving them more money and making them the parents of the kids in Beverly Hills 90210.
But 90210 and Melrose Place are far from Spellings only contributions to television history. Here are his top 11 best and most influential shows:
11. Hart to Hart – Finally a show about rich people solving crimes instead of committing them.
10. T.J. Hooker – Proved that William Shatner can play more than just a starship captain.
9. Dynasty – An inferior imitation of Dallas, but it did pioneer the poolside party cat-fight that was later to become a staple on “The O.C”.
8. Vega$ – Once again Spelling shows how far ahead of his time he was by setting a show in Las Vegas in 1978. Also pioneered the use of the dollar sign in place of the “s” in Vegas.
7. Fantasy Island – The precursor to all of those angel, ghost, and witch shows now on the air.
6. Love Boat – Run the love boat into an iceberg and you have a 600 million dollar movie.
5. Starsky and Hutch – Contributed Huggy Bear, the good criminal who informs on the really bad criminals.
4. Models Inc. – A surprisingly short run spin-off of Melrose Place centering on a modeling agency and its models. May have been too far ahead of its time. Don’t be surprised to see a future hit based on the same premise.
3. Beverly Hills 90210 – The quintessential teen-oriented soap. Stop whining about how Spelling used the show as a vehicle for thrusting his daughter onto the American public. That’s a small price to pay for all that Aaron has done for us.
2. Charlie’s Angels – If you’re going to have detectives, why not make them hot chicks? Brilliant!
1. Melrose Place – Second only to “The O.C.” in overall greatness.
But 90210 and Melrose Place are far from Spellings only contributions to television history. Here are his top 11 best and most influential shows:
11. Hart to Hart – Finally a show about rich people solving crimes instead of committing them.
10. T.J. Hooker – Proved that William Shatner can play more than just a starship captain.
9. Dynasty – An inferior imitation of Dallas, but it did pioneer the poolside party cat-fight that was later to become a staple on “The O.C”.
8. Vega$ – Once again Spelling shows how far ahead of his time he was by setting a show in Las Vegas in 1978. Also pioneered the use of the dollar sign in place of the “s” in Vegas.
7. Fantasy Island – The precursor to all of those angel, ghost, and witch shows now on the air.
6. Love Boat – Run the love boat into an iceberg and you have a 600 million dollar movie.
5. Starsky and Hutch – Contributed Huggy Bear, the good criminal who informs on the really bad criminals.
4. Models Inc. – A surprisingly short run spin-off of Melrose Place centering on a modeling agency and its models. May have been too far ahead of its time. Don’t be surprised to see a future hit based on the same premise.
3. Beverly Hills 90210 – The quintessential teen-oriented soap. Stop whining about how Spelling used the show as a vehicle for thrusting his daughter onto the American public. That’s a small price to pay for all that Aaron has done for us.
2. Charlie’s Angels – If you’re going to have detectives, why not make them hot chicks? Brilliant!
1. Melrose Place – Second only to “The O.C.” in overall greatness.
posted by Sisyphus at 6/26/2006 11:43:00 AM
3 Comments:
You are a wise man for listing Models Inc. highly. That show was way ahead of its time.
Come to think of it, it was on right in the middle of the Clinton era, so maybe it was right on time.
Nevertheless, it was a travesty when FOX gave up on such a promising show.
S.W.A.T. was an important show, but not quite as important as the other shows on the list.
S.W.A.T. was definitely on my list.
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