Secrets 1992

[Carrie Fairchild]

I know what you mean, right now I'd LOVE to dive into Santa Barbara but with everything that's going on on Netflix - and I'll drop *everything* for The Crown's Diana episodes - plus the boxsets of TV series on DVD piling up in my living room, it's simply not doable.
It's all about making difficult choices but I guess that's a luxury problem.

I know. It is a real "first world problem" At present, I've dived into The Bold and the Beautiful as my daily watch (having recently finished The Heights). I still have a lengthy list of stuff saved that I'm unlikely to ever get around to including Eldorado, Out of The Blue, the Crossroads revival, E Street, Dark Shadows, Peyton Place, Sunset Beach, Chateauvallon (I don't even speak French), Night & Day, Knots Landing, edits of Brookside, Family Affairs & EastEnders and a couple of German soaps that I'm hoping to use to improve my minimal German.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Oh I'd hate to see you miss out on Peyton Place, it's so good (and it's only 514 episodes).

Apart from Santa Barbara, the only other daytime soap that intrigues me is Dark Shadows (many tellytalkers seem to love it).
As for most wanted prime time soaps: Bare Essence, Secrets Of Midland Heights and Homefront, and I'd love to re-watch the New Zealand 80s glamour soap GLOSS.

Chateauvallon (I don't even speak French)

Ha! I would try to re-watch it without subtitles, if I could remember what happened. But I don't.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Oh I'd hate to see you miss out on Peyton Place, it's so good (and it's only 514 episodes).

Apart from Santa Barbara, the only other daytime soap that intrigues me is Dark Shadows (many tellytalkers seem to love it).
As for most wanted prime time soaps: Bare Essence, Secrets Of Midland Heights and Homefront, and I'd love to re-watch the New Zealand 80s glamour soap GLOSS.


Ha! I would try to re-watch it without subtitles, if I could remember what happened. But I don't.

Bare Essence is top of my wishlist too but I'd be surprised if it ever turns up online again. Ditto, Harold Robbins' The Survivors, which I've read is a bit of a snoozefest but I'm very curious to see what a 60's jet set soap looks like.

I watched the first episode of Peyton Place over the weekend and I'll definitely be revisiting.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Ditto, Harold Robbins' The Survivors, which I've read is a bit of a snoozefest but I'm very curious to see what a 60's jet set soap looks like.

I think it's these lesser-known movies and series that would be great material for a remake.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

 

[tommie]

Great to see something of this show! It doesn't look too bad from a production stand-point at least.

I just realised that the actress playing the main love interest in the couple arguing was also on Peter Benchley's Amazon - another syndicated fare I liked back in the day.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Great to see something of this show! It doesn't look too bad from a production stand-point at least.

Yes, I figured, given its calibre of cast and crew, that it’d have reasonably good production values. I’m very surprised that a clip has surfaced at this point as I always figured we’d never see any of it unless it was released officially. Again, it reminds me of the other Eurosoap from that period, Riviera, all of which you can view here - in Catalan - https://www.ccma.cat/3cat/riviera-capitol-1/video/5543454/

 

[AndyB2008]

There was a similar show produced for Swedish television in 2002 called "Ocean Ave.", which was made to essentially replace the incredibly popular Sunset Beach. It was terrible and a ratings bomb, but managed to produce 120 hour episodes / 240 half hour episodes (they offered both versions to potential buyers). I think it ended up sold to the other Scandinavian countries plus some local stations in Florida. Funnily enough it did manage to star a very young Meghan Fox, future Pussycat Doll Jessica Sutta and Rebecca Ferguson (who had at that point already done other Swedish soaps); it also starred a bunch of soapers like Jean Carol (The Guiding Light), Timothy Adams (Sunset Beach) and also stunt-casted Victoria Silvstedt for a couple of episodes.

Keeping the international flavour and speaking of Jessica Sutta, she later teamed up with German DJ Paul Van Dyk for the 2007 track White Lies. Unfortunately despite Jessica's success with The Pussycat Dolls, White Lies failed to chart in the UK Top 75 and meant his collaboration with Saint Etienne in 2000 remains Paul's highest charting hit in the UK (it is also Saint Etienne's).

 

[Seaviewer]

Funny. I remember that there was a soap starring Peggy Lipton but I can't for the life of me remember if I watched it.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

The first two episodes here (presented as one) from what I think was a Swedish airing. Based on what I see here, it feels like a cut above Riviera, the other Eurosoap from 1992, in terms of production values and writing. And of course, in terms of casting. How Peggy Lipton, who’d just come off Twin Peaks, one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons ever on TV, ended up on this Eurotrash as her next project is anybody’s guess, but she plays a good lead and I liked Olivia’s double act with her secretary Tina.

 

[Toni]

I only know what I've read online about it and the only clips I've seen of it are the few on Jamie Lyn Bauer's website & the opening credits that used to be on YouTube. From what I've read, it only aired in a handful of European countries (France, Italy, Germany & Estonia).

It kind of reminds me of another Euro soap Riviera, that came a year before Secrets premiered. Santa Barbara was quite popular in Europe & TV companies wanted to do a similar show with a European twist but with international sales potential. Riviera was shot in English (the show was filmed and set in France) and then dubbed into other languages. It bombed out quickly in it's native France where it premiered in a 6pm timeslot before being shoved off to 6am to see out it's days. It was used as late night filler in the UK but I know it was aired in quite a few other countries in Europe, Africa and I think the Caribbean. For anyone that speaks Catalan, all 260 episodes are available online dubbed in that language.

Back to Secrets, it seems to have followed a similar pattern to the above, but with more of an American influence in terms of cast & crew. This however doesn't seem to have guaranteed an American network pickup, which I'm guessing would've dictated if more episodes were to be ordered beyond it's initial 13 week run.

Thank you for the info for us Catalan speakers, though I myself am not into daytime soaps. TBATB was also dubbed into Catalan, as well as "Dancing Days" (which was Brazilian) and the "Bare Essence" miniseries.