Bare Essence

*Bare Essence*
Bare Essence
Genre	Soap opera
Based on	Bare Essence (1980); by Meredith Rich
Written by	Robert Hamilton ; Walter Grauman
Directed by	Walter Grauman
Starring	Genie Francis; Jennifer O'Neill; Lee Grant; John Dehner; Ian McShane; Michael Woods; Jonathan Frakes; Wendy Fulton; Jaime Lyn Bauer; Al Corley; Susan French;
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11
Production
Executive producer	Philip Saltzman
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	Warner Bros. Television
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 15 –; June 13, 1983

Bare Essence is an American prime time soap opera television series which aired on NBC from February 15 to June 13, 1983, during the 1982–83 season. It starred Genie Francis as Tyger Hayes, and explored the intrigues of the perfume industry.

Miniseries (1982)

Bare Essence first appeared in the form of a two-part, 4-hour TV miniseries shown over two nights on October 4 and 5, 1982 on CBS. Based on the 1980 novel of the same name by Meredith Rich, it was directed by Walter Grauman and written by Robert Hamilton. The miniseries starred Bruce Boxleitner as Chase Marshall, Linda Evans as Lady Bobbi Rowan, Genie Francis as Bobbi's daughter Patricia "Tyger" Hayes, Lee Grant as Ava Marshall, Joel Higgins as Matt Phillips and Donna Mills as Barbara Fisher. Francis Benard, John Dehner, Jonathan Frakes, Susan French, Belinda Montgomery and Tim Thomerson appeared in supporting roles. It garnered excellent ratings, but CBS passed on a proposed series, which NBC picked up instead. By the time the series went to air in February 1983, the roles which had been played in the miniseries by Evans, Mills, Grant, and Boxleitner were taken over respectively by Jennifer O'Neill, Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jessica Walter and Al Corley. Francis reprised the lead role of Tyger in the new series.^[1]

Weekly series (1983)

Synopsis

Bare Essence starred Genie Francis, Ian McShane, Jennifer O'Neill, Jessica Walter and Michael Woods, with Jamie Lyn Bauer, Laura Bruneau, John Dehner, Jonathan Frakes, Susan French and Wendy Fulton in supporting roles. The show revolves around the efforts of Tyger Hayes (Francis) to succeed in the business world. In the first episode, her new husband Chase Marshall (guest star Al Corley) is killed in a racing car accident. Chase's father Hadden (Dehner) opposes Tyger's efforts to join the family business, Kellico, but she is encouraged by Hadden's sister Margaret (French) to try her hand with a new line of perfumes. Ava (Walter), the widow of Hadden's other son, is concerned that any success Tyger might have will undermine the position of her son Marcus (Frakes) in the company. Ava plots with Marcus' wife Muffin (Fulton) to undermine Tyger's success. It is later revealed that Muffin had Tyger's husband killed when she had someone sabotage his car. Ava eventually seduces and marries Hadden. Tyger's mother, Lady Bobbi Rowan (O'Neill), falls in love with a Greek millionaire, Niko Theopolous (Ian McShane), who wants to exact revenge on the Marshalls. Penny Fuller and Morgan Stevens join the cast midway through the season, while Ted LePlat, Richard Backus, Anulka Dziubinska, Paula Holland and Michael Nader appear in recurring roles.^[2]

Reception

Despite a great deal of promotion (with commercials like "Love her. Use her. Or destroy her. Everyone wants a piece of Tyger Hayes."),^[1] Bare Essence was unsuccessful and canceled after its first season, with cliffhangers left unresolved.^[3] Christopher Schemering called the series "a routine story of murder and family mayhem" in The Soap Opera Encyclopedia, describing Walter's Ava as "a stock villainess obviously modeled on Joan Collins's Alexis in Dynasty."^[1] Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote that Bare Essence "comes up lacking on almost all counts. A better title would be Bare Minimum." He praised the female cast members, but noted that "writer-director Walter Grauman has given this talent little to do that isn't ridiculous on the face of it."^[4]

Cast

Role	Miniseries	Weekly series
Chase Marshall	Bruce Boxleitner	Al Corley
Lady Bobbi Rowan	Linda Evans	Jennifer O'Neill
Patricia "Tyger" Hayes	Genie Francis
Ava Marshall	Lee Grant	Jessica Walter
Matt Phillips	Joel Higgins	—
Barbara Fisher	Donna Mills	Jaime Lyn Bauer
Armand Habib	Francis Benard	—
Hadden Marshall	John Dehner
Marcus Marshall	Jonathan Frakes
Margaret Marshall	Susan French
Melody Youngblood	Belinda Montgomery	—
Billy Youngblood	Tim Thomerson	—
Niko Theophilus	—	Ian McShane
Sean Benedict	—	Michael Woods
Cathy	—	Laura Bruneau
Muffin Marshall	Wendy Fulton

Episodes

Season	Episodes	Originally aired
Season	Episodes	First aired	Last aired
Miniseries	2	October 4, 1982 (1982-10-04)	October 5, 1982 (1982-10-05)
1	11	March 10, 1980 (1980-03-10)	August 16, 1980 (1980-08-16)

Miniseries (1979)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	"Part 1"	Walter Grauman	Story by : Meredith Rich Teleplay by : Robert Hamilton	October 4, 1982 (1982-10-04)	19.7^[5]
2	"Part 2"	Walter Grauman	Story by : Meredith Rich Teleplay by : Robert Hamilton	October 5, 1982 (1982-10-05)	22.4

Season 1 (1980)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1 2	"Hour One & Two"	Walter Grauman	Robert Hamilton	February 15, 1983 (1983-02-15)	15.0
3	"Hour Three"	Walter Grauman	Robert Hamilton	February 22, 1983 (1983-02-22)	14.3
4	"Hour Four"	Walter Grauman	Robert Hamilton	March 1, 1983 (1983-03-01)	11.9
5	"Hour Five"	Walter Grauman	Robert Hamilton	March 25, 1983 (1983-03-25)	10.7
6	"Hour Six"	Walter Grauman	Robert Hamilton	April 1, 1983 (1983-04-01)	10.3
7	"Hour Seven"	Walter Grauman	Story by : Robert Hamilton & Pat Falkin Smith Teleplay by : Robert Hamilton	April 8, 1983 (1983-04-08)	10.1
8	"Hour Eight"	Walter Grauman	Kathleen A. Shelley	April 15, 1983 (1983-04-15)	8.9
9	"Hour Nine"	Walter Grauman	Kathleen A. Shelley	April 29, 1983 (1983-04-29)	10.2
10 11	"Bare Essence: The Final Chapter"	Walter Grauman	James Fritzhand	June 13, 1983 (1983-06-13)	13.5

US TV ratings

Season	Episodes	Start Date	End Date	Nielsen Rank	Nielsen Rating	Tied With
1982–83	11	February 15, 1983	June 13, 1983	85^[3]	11.9	—

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Schemering, Christopher (September 1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-345-32459-5.
^ Copeland, Mary Ann (1991). Soap Opera History. Mallard Press. ISBN 978-0792454519.
^ ^a ^b Clawson, J. "1982–83 Ratings History: Soap Bubbles Rise, Several Veterans Part and NBC Renews Poorly Rated Masterpieces". The TV Ratings Guide. Archived from the original on 2018-03-18. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
^ Shales, Tom (February 15, 1983). "Such Gloss! Such Dross! It's Bare Essence!". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
^ Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.

External links

Bare Essence at IMDb (1982 TV movie)
Bare Essence at IMDb (1983 TV series)

[SOE-1] Schemering, Christopher (September 1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-345-32459-5.

[2] Copeland, Mary Ann (1991). Soap Opera History. Mallard Press. ISBN 978-0792454519.

[TVRG-3] Clawson, J. "1982–83 Ratings History: Soap Bubbles Rise, Several Veterans Part and NBC Renews Poorly Rated Masterpieces". The TV Ratings Guide. Archived from the original on 2018-03-18. Retrieved April 5, 2018.

[4] Shales, Tom (February 15, 1983). "Such Gloss! Such Dross! It's Bare Essence!". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2018.

[5] Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.

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