"TV has changed," Jennifer O’Neill observed. "One cannot discount the power of exposure on television." John James theorized, "It's the power medium of the industry, and it gets into the nooks and crannies of society. I don't think film ever was or ever will be as powerful as television..."
In the 1930s and '40s, it was noted matinee idols advanced gradually but inevitably to leading star status by "learning the acting ropes as they went along". By 1990, Frances Reid remarked, "In my day, you could have a career if you stood up straight and spoke your lines loud and clear. Now, being prepared is more important than ever. To survive today’s competition, you have to be able to act, sing, dance and strip." Jennifer added, "When I started you were either a film actor or a TV actor...The business has changed...My whole attitude toward television has changed."
Inspired by the series 'Dynasty' and based on Meredith Rich's novel, 'Bare Essence' made its weekly TV debut in February 1983. "It happened so quickly," Jennifer recalled, "I came out in December (1982) for meetings with NBC and Warner Bros. Television and we started shooting on January 4 (1983)....I've definitely fought moving to the West Coast for years. As a performer, as an actress, I never felt that I needed to...Hollywood is not a place I like to be…It's really a place to work, not to live…I’d be more comfortable living…on the East Coast."
Luis Estevez was the costumer designer on 'Bare Essence', "I'm not a New York designer or a Los Angeles designer. I'm an American designer, and I want to design for both coasts and everything in between." Jennifer confessed, "Having worked mostly in movies, it was a shock to find out how quickly they shoot in television…You learn your lines and get on with it. (However) they have that lovely thing called hiatus."
By the '80s, John thanked the Talent school, "If I hadn’t had that, I probably wouldn’t be talking with you today (1987)....It is an opportunity for young actors to be seen. It’s a lot harder today and I think that people don’t remember that there is no studio system to help the actor." Genie Francis could be seen on all 3 networks before she was 20, "I went to school right there on the set (of 'General Hospital') ...I got the role by auditioning for it. It was a very small part, I was just Leslie’s long-lost daughter living in a commune. I didn’t start developing my character until I’d been there for some time." Jennifer acknowledged, "I'm not naïve about how difficult it is to find success in television. I was here (for) 'Bare Essence' which really didn’t work because the scripts were bad and the characters were completely unrealistic."
In 1985, John starred in "a major television event. The most impressive all-star cast in the history of series television." The series was 'Dynasty II: The Colbys'. "'Dynasty' is comedy," he pointed out. "We're all cartoon characters living out a fantasy. It’s pure camp, almost tongue-in-cheek. Part of the clue to 'Dynasty's' popularity is that people watch it and think, 'This is ridiculous, this couldn’t happen,' and it's true." Before making his mark on prime time television, John had attended drama school, did commercials, appeared on Broadway and starred in a daytime soap opera. 'Bare Essence' also marked Genie prime time TV debut, "On 'General Hospital' I had to learn 30 to 60 pages a day...Now we have 8 days to shoot an hour...There is no balance. It seems you're either working like crazy or sitting around doing nothing." Of acting on 'Dynasty' John concluded, "As my acting coach once told me, copying life is boring; you have to make it bigger than life."
