Melrose Place season 1

Melrose Place
Season 1
DVD cover
Starring	Josie Bissett Thomas Calabro Amy Locane Doug Savant Grant Show Andrew Shue Courtney Thorne-Smith Vanessa A. Williams Daphne Zuniga
No. of episodes	32
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	July 8, 1992 (1992-07-08) – May 26, 1993 (1993-05-26)
Season chronology

The first season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on July 8, 1992. The season one finale aired on May 26, 1993, after 32 episodes.

Each episode ran approximately 45 minutes in length, with the season premiere and finale being extended to 90 minutes. Production team for the first season of the show includes Chip Hayes as producer, Charles Pratt, Jr. as co-producer, Frank South and Frederick Rappaport as supervising producers and Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent and Darren Star as executive producers.

The season was released on DVD as an eight-disc box set under the title of Melrose Place - The Complete First Season on November 7, 2006 by Paramount Home Video.

Storylines

During its first season, Melrose Place was an earnest serial drama with low-key storylines focusing on young people who come to Los Angeles to realize their dreams. The series was introduced with a crossover story from Beverly Hills, 90210 in which Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) pursues Melrose Place resident Jake Hanson (Grant Show), a laborer and bad-boy biker. Jake first appeared in the last two episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210's second season, while Kelly continued their storyline with appearances in the first three episodes of Melrose Place, along with Brian Austin Green as David Silver, and Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders. Tori Spelling also appears in the first two episodes as her Beverly Hills, 90210 character Donna Martin. Eventually, Jake breaks off the romance because of their age difference and his inability to commit to her.

Michael (Thomas Calabro) and Jane Mancini (Josie Bissett) are the building's stable couple. Michael, the building superintendent, is a physician at Wilshire Memorial Hospital, and Jane is a budding fashion designer. Their neighbors are roommates Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith) and Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue). Alison is a receptionist at a local advertising firm, and Billy is a struggling writer who makes ends meet as a dance teacher, a taxi driver, a local newspaper reporter and a furniture salesman before finding a job at Escapade magazine near the end of the season. Alison and Billy later began an affair. Gay social worker Matt Fielding (Doug Savant) files a sexual-discrimination lawsuit against the halfway house at which he volunteers.

Other original cast members are aerobics instructor Rhonda Blair (Vanessa A. Williams) and her roommate, actress Sandy Louise Harling (Amy Locane), who moonlights as a waitress at Shooters, the group's hangout. Sandy was written out of the series after 13 episodes, after being discovered by a talent agent for a soap opera, with the producers admitting later that they "never knew what they wanted to do with the character". She was replaced by photographer Jo Reynolds (Daphne Zuniga), who arrives from New York to escape her alcoholic ex-husband. Jo and Jake become friends and enjoy an on-again, off-again romance.

Faced with mediocre ratings, its producers attempted to revamp the series. Heather Locklear was introduced as Amanda Woodward, the art director at D & D Advertising, and Alison's confidante. Intended as a guest star for a four episode story arc, Locklear remained on the series throughout its run. Amanda became vice-president, having affairs with several Melrose Place residents and vying with Alison for Billy's affections. The series evolved from an episodic format to a soap opera with ongoing, interwoven stories, beginning with Michael Mancini's affair with co-worker Kimberly Shaw (Marcia Cross) and Alison's affair with a married man who begins stalking her in the season finale after she ends the relationship. The season ends with Alison and Billy becoming a couple, Michael and Jane splitting up when Jane discovers his affair with Kimberly, and Amanda's miscarriage of Billy's baby and her purchase of the building.

At the end of the season, Vanessa Williams was fired, citing the show's changes, "They didn’t invite me back for the second season. It wasn’t anything about my work, but they decided to go a different route". Her character Rhonda left the apartment complex after becoming engaged to wealthy restaurateur Terrence Haggard (John Marshall Jones).

Cast

Main cast members

In alphabetical order

• Josie Bissett as Jane Mancini
• Thomas Calabro as Michael Mancini
• Amy Locane as Sandy Harling (episodes 1–13)
• Doug Savant as Matt Fielding
• Grant Show as Jake Hanson
• Andrew Shue as Billy Campbell
• Courtney Thorne-Smith as Alison Parker
• Vanessa Williams as Rhonda Blair
• Daphne Zuniga as Jo Reynolds (episodes 15+)

Recurring guest stars

• Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor
• Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders
• Brian Austin Green as David Silver
• Deborah Adair as Lucy Cabot
• Salome Jens as Joan Campbell
• Marcia Cross as Dr. Kimberly Shaw
• Carmen Argenziano as Dr. Stanley Levin
• William R. Moses as Keith Gray
• Rae Dawn Chong as Carrie Fellows
• James Handy as Matt Fielding Sr.
• Claudette Nevins as Constance Fielding
• Sydney Walsh as Kay Beacon
• John Marshall Jones as Terrence Haggard
• Laura Leighton as Sydney Andrews
• Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward
• Wayne Tippit as Palmer Woodward
• Meg Wittner as Nancy Donner

The role of Billy Campbell was originally played by actor Stephan Fanning, who beat out Matthew Perry for the role. Days into shooting the pilot, Fanning was fired and replaced by Andrew Shue. His scenes were reshot.

Episodes

See also: List of Melrose Place episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Pilot"	Howard Deutch	Darren Star	July 8, 1992 (1992-07-08)	2392001	16
2	2	"Friends and Lovers"	Daniel Attias	Charles Pratt, Jr.	July 15, 1992 (1992-07-15)	2392002	19
3	3	"Lost and Found"	Charles Braverman	Frederick Rappaport	July 22, 1992 (1992-07-22)	2392003	15.2
4	4	"For Love or Money"	Steven Robman	Amy Spies	July 29, 1992 (1992-07-29)	2392004	11.7
5	5	"Leap of Faith"	Bethany Rooney	Ellen Herman	August 5, 1992 (1992-08-05)	2392005	12.1
6	6	"Second Chances"	Jefferson Kibbee	Toni Graphia	August 12, 1992 (1992-08-12)	2392007	14.6
7	7	"My Way"	Bethany Rooney	Darren Star	August 19, 1992 (1992-08-19)	2392006	13
8	8	"Lonely Hearts"	Jefferson Kibbee	Charles Pratt, Jr.	September 2, 1992 (1992-09-02)	2392008	12.3
9	9	"Responsibly Yours"	Daniel Attias	Frederick Rappaport	September 9, 1992 (1992-09-09)	2392009	11
10	10	"Burned"	Janet Greek	Robert Guza, Jr.	September 16, 1992 (1992-09-16)	2392010	9.9
11	11	"A Promise Broken"	Nancy Malone	Charles Pratt, Jr.	September 30, 1992 (1992-09-30)	2392011	9.3
12	12	"Polluted Affairs"	Daniel Attias	Amy Spies	October 21, 1992 (1992-10-21)	2392012	11.7
13	13	"Dreams Come True"	John Nicolella	Ellen Herman	October 28, 1992 (1992-10-28)	2392013	10.7
14	14	"Drawing the Line"	David Rosenbloom	Robert Guza, Jr.	November 4, 1992 (1992-11-04)	2392014	12.7
15	15	"House of God"	Nancy Malone	Robert Guza, Jr.	November 11, 1992 (1992-11-11)	2392015	12.9
16	16	"The Whole Truth"	Charles Braverman	Joe Viola	November 18, 1992 (1992-11-18)	2392016	9.9
17	17	"Jake vs Jake"	Victoria Hochberg	Frank South	November 25, 1992 (1992-11-25)	2392017	10.5
18	18	"A Melrose Place Christmas"	Bethany Rooney	Darren Star	December 16, 1992 (1992-12-16)	2392018	10.8
19	19	"Single White Sister"	Charles Correll	Ellen Herman	January 6, 1993 (1993-01-06)	2392019	9.4
20	20	"Peanut Butter and Jealousy"	Nancy Malone	Charles Pratt, Jr.	January 13, 1993 (1993-01-13)	2392020	9.8
21	21	"Picture Imperfect"	Nancy Malone	Story by : Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich Teleplay by : Darren Star & Frank South & Charles Pratt Jr.	January 27, 1993 (1993-01-27)	2392021	8
22	22	"Three's a Crowd"	Jefferson Kibbee	Amy Spies	February 3, 1993 (1993-02-03)	2392022	10.7
23	23	"My New Partner"	Richard Lang	Frank South	February 10, 1993 (1993-02-10)	2392023	9.9
24	24	"Bye Bye Billy"	Victoria Hochberg	Nicole Yorkin & Dawn Prestwich	February 17, 1993 (1993-02-17)	2392024	13.7
25	25	"Irreconcilable Similarities"	Nancy Malone	Charles Pratt, Jr.	March 3, 1993 (1993-03-03)	2392025	12
26	26	"End Game"	James Frawley	Frank South	March 24, 1993 (1993-03-24)	2392026	12.6
27	27	"The Test"	Paul Lazarus	Darren Star	March 31, 1993 (1993-03-31)	2392027	11.4
28	28	"Pushing Boundaries"	Marty Pasetta	Jordan Budde	April 7, 1993 (1993-04-07)	2392028	10.4
29	29	"Pas de Trois"	Chip Chalmers	Charles Pratt, Jr.	April 21, 1993 (1993-04-21)	2392029	N/A
30	30	"Carpe Diem"	Richard Lang	Frank South & Darren Star	April 28, 1993 (1993-04-28)	2392030	11.6
31	31	"State of Need"	Paul Lazarus	Charles Pratt, Jr.	May 12, 1993 (1993-05-12)	2392031	14
32	32	"Suspicious Minds"	James Frawley	Darren Star & Frank South	May 26, 1993 (1993-05-26)	2392032	13.2