Arthur Hailey's Hotel

[Alexis]

They seriously invented the word "Bulemarexia"?

Yes. Yes they did. It's amazing that they condensed the whole plotline into one episode. I mean that could have been two whole seasons on Knots Landing.
Basically Christine who is about a size 8 anyway goes to the gym looking like great shape Barbie and on the way out she grimaces at herself in a mirror, despite looking amazing. Next thing you know she's stuffing chocolates and crisps and lardy things down her gob and then puking I all up. All resolved in the last few minutes though with the help of Peter (Jesus of St Gregory) McDermott.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Only... And I didn't see this coming at all... Victoria is dead... She's had a stroke.

I had completely forgotten about this.

he's a son of a bitch and he wants Peter out of his hotel and out of his penthouse, which he moved into when Victoria left.

Too bad she didn't have a bitchy sister.

she took Mark's job. I guess Mark got fired

Whaaaat?? How dare they! Talk about jumping the shark.

 

[GillesDenver]

The music from the movie is SO beautiful! I like it much better than the music used in the TV series :

 

[Alexis]

The music from the movie is SO beautiful! I like it much better than the music used in the TV series :

I have never seen the movie and was just thinking about it the other day that I'll have to get it.

 

[Alexis]

Whaaaat?? How dare they! Talk about jumping the shark.

He's gone Willie... He's gone.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I have never seen the movie and was just thinking about it the other day that I'll have to get it.

Haven't seen it either but if it's only half as good as the novel then I guess it worth checking out.

He's gone Willie... He's gone.

Such a shame he never got the chance to become gay...oh well, at least I had my fantasies.

 

[Alexis]

Such a shame he never got the chance to become gay...oh well, at least I had my fantasies.

I liked him but only in the first season or two, then he looked different.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

The music from the movie is SO beautiful! I like it much better than the music used in the TV series :

I have never seen the movie and was just thinking about it the other day that I'll have to get it.

Oh my god, this music reminds me soooo much of Sable's theme on The Colbys!!!

 

[Alexis]

I have finally finished season 4 and moved onto season 5. There is a much darker style apparent from the very first scene. It's like someone told Spelling that he had to stop that flat lighting. It's strange, lots of shadows and the hotel rooms are filmed dimly for a séance scene. The season 5 opener also features Gary and Jack Ewing. Ted Shakleford as a man that has murdered his wife, or so he thinks. And Dack Rambo as a date/love interest for Christine... Oh Yea, I forgot to tell you.

See towards the end of season 4 Christine's long lost love returned from Nam, even though Nam finished in 1979, and this must have been like 1987 or later. Just go with it. This long lost love, Gary, is a naval officer. So he wears his white naval uniform all the time. Even on dates, which is weird. Anyways he really starts putting the moves on Christine, which makes Peter question what he wants from her. He realises after a time that he wants her bad, bad enough to propose. Which he does.... And inexplicably Christine turns him down. I mean he bought a gorgeous huge ring and everything. So she turns him down, and for no real understandable reason. And then all of a sudden they aren't dating each other and she's back at her apartment. In the season 5 opener we have two Hotel employees we have never seen before discussing all of this in case you forgot.

So now Peter and Christine are back to torturous square one, where they aren't dating but instead look longingly at each other and do nothing while they date other people. Truly horrible.

However the best, most exciting thing that has happened so far is that Alexis Colby's penthouse apartment has just shown up on Hotel, as a restaurant. Not unlike the one that was on The Colbys. It's definitely the same set. There is a band playing in the little alcove where her dinning table was. With that slopped window above. Christine and her date have dinner at a table right in front of Alexis' bar which has been redressed. And Gary Ewing has dinner with a psychic medium on the little balcony that overlooked Alexis' living room, right in front of her spiral staircase.

I'm so chuffed to find this set has had so much life. Even more so if we are to believe that it is indeed a redo of the Art studio. I wonder what it initially started out as?

I will try and figure out a way to do a screen grab from my crappy laptop.

 

[GillesDenver]

No, it's not a redo of the art studio.
And in "Hotel" they used it with minor changes in comparison to "The Colbys" (they just changed the paintings and the result was quite awful I think).

I have finally finished season 4 and moved onto season 5. There is a much darker style apparent from the very first scene. It's like someone told Spelling that he had to stop that flat lighting. It's strange, lots of shadows and the hotel rooms are filmed dimly for a séance scene.

Interestingly, the last season of "Hotel" was produced by Dennis Hammer who also produced the last season of "Dynasty" (because David Paulsen was not the only one to come that year, even though nobody mentioned him...) And in the last season of "Dynasty", the lighting was very much reduced too.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0358447/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr4

 

[Alexis]

No, it's not a redo of the art studio.

A lot of people seem to think it was. I never really saw it myself. Not as a redress anyways. Maybe some of the same set components but the art Studio always seemed a lot smaller to me.

nd in "Hotel" they used it with minor changes in comparison to "The Colbys" (they just changed the paintings and the result was quite awful I think).

I like it on Hotel as it adds more to the St Gregory. I think they repainted the walls too in shades of grey and there is a black wall too. It's also nice to see the San Fran skyline outside of those huge windows either side of the fireplace. I liked the paintings and the light fittings, which were also used on The Colbys. I just didn't like the art piece above the fireplace. But at least Hotel had that, Alexis didn't. I also found it funny that they placed a curtain in that little alcove where Alexis used to have a glass console table. On Hotel it looks like an entry way to another room.

Interestingly, the last season of "Hotel" was produced by Dennis Hammer who also produced the last season of "Dynasty" (because David Paulsen was not the only one to come that year, even though nobody mentioned him...) And in the last season of "Dynasty", the lighting was very much reduced too.

I don't know if reduced is how I would describe the lighting on the show around this time. I would say it's more artistic and atmospheric, the same as I would say for Dynasty season 9. I really started to notice the sets on Hotel, as I did on Dynasty and realise how pretty they were when they weren't flooded with light. With this kind of lighting you get much more a sense of time. In previous seasons of Hotel, it was all just universally bright most of the time. It could be early morning, midday or late afternoon. I couldn't tell. This season opener of Hotel also featured rain pouring outside the windows which was a nice touch.

 

[Alexis]

The episodes in season 5 keep ending with Christine and her mystery as to why she cant be with Peter. Freeze frames on her face after she says silly things like "You'll never know..." (Why they cant be together) End credits.
So Christine is hiding some secret that somehow stops her from marrying Peter? I haven't a clue? Maybe she cant have kids or something and feels inadequate. I don't know, I'm trying imagine some kind of drama that only the 1980s could come up with.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I'm trying imagine some kind of drama that only the 1980s could come up with.

They are brother and sister and they were both raped but he doesn't remember that because he has repressed those memories, and they're both in the witness protection program but she doesn't remember that because she fell off a horse.

 

[Alexis]

They are brother and sister and they were both raped but he doesn't remember that because he has repressed those memories, and they're both in the witness protection program but she doesn't remember that because she fell off a horse.

But seriously, there is a scene where Christine and Peter argue about why they cant be together. And it is very like that stupid scene from Dynasty where Krystle argues with Blake about having to wait so many days to divorce Mark Jennings... Or some crap like that. I mean there just is no logic. Peter and Christine should be together, the end. But the producers/writers are trying to pull some "Keep then apart, Gary and Val" shit and it's not working.

 

[Gabriel Maxwell]

This could've been a fun little crossover episode. And HOTEL's Wednesday at 10 timeslot leading out of DYNASTY just begged for it.

 

[Willie Oleson]

That story was also in the Dutch magazines - I was so excited!
And I kept waiting and waiting and waiting...and it just never happened

 

[J. R.'s Piece]

Stop it Willie. Don't tempt me! That's half the reason I loved Columbo so much, and I had to buy the complete box set.

Well, both shows are from Richard Levinson and William Link. They did Mannix too, among others.

At school, I always wanted to grow up to be a guest murderer on Columbo. Especially if I got to murder to cover up my murder. But I wouldn’t have coped well with my plan being unravelled, when I incriminated myself up by being too indisputably clever.

 

[JamesF]

After years of curiosity and reading this thread, I finally saw the series at a decent price and decided to purchase. Oh my god, it's the best investment I've made in some time. They really don't make tv like this any more and I mean that with every positive and negative connotation you can imagine.

It's such undemanding, "comfort food" tv that I've already blasted through eight episodes in two sittings. Particular highlights:

• Heather Locklear doing a "sexy" dance routine to a muzak version of She Works Hard for the Money - except its basically close ups of her interspersed with long shots of a stunt double with a completely different hairstyle.
• Lynn Redgrave as the most unlikely "other woman" imaginable. Realising that she's slumming it in such a series, she decides she can't be arsed with committing to any particular accent and gets a slap round the face for her trouble.
• Jack Ewing and Anne Matheson falling into bed after he helps her fix a water leak in her hotel room. As you do in a world-class, 5* hotel.
• Just looking at Shea Farrell's face in general.

I can't wait to keep watching though will have to ration myself so I don't rot my brain entirely.

 

[Monzo]

Was Hotel a Dynasty-worthy lead-out? Final episodes of season 2 aired during summer 1985 and St Elsewhere repeats got higher ratings in the same timeslot, so I assume Hotel really needed Dynasty. In season 5 ABC moved Hotel to saturdays where it didn't work, then to thursdays 9pm. The Colbys did better a year earlier in that timeslot, Dynasty a year later, too. Final episode of Hotel was least watched episode ever: only 6.6 rating.

 

[Chris2]

What exactly did Peter do when he took over as owner when Victoria died and he promoted Christine to GM? What does the “owner” do?