In 1996 and 1997, Ray Wise played Edward Burton in the Aaron Spelling's series, 'Savannah', "The thing I like most about 'Savannah' is that more happen in 50 minutes of our show than 5 or 6 hours of other shows." 'The New York Times' observed, "The modus operandi in this kind of project is to keep plot developments moving as fast as possible because, if viewers are given a chance to think, nothing makes any sense."
'Variety' voiced, "Outrageous as it plays, writers James Stanley and Dianne Messina Stanley know how to whomp out a slew of attention-getting stories and surprise turns in good if bizarre storytelling tradition. Dedicated watchers can't predict what the characters will do any more than the inmates can, but it makes entertaining TV." 'The New York Times' concluded, "Say one thing for Mr. Spelling and his collaborators: No one does it better."
In episode 9, Edward Burton announced his candidacy for the state senate. In one scene, Reese was heard talking on the phone to the press, "My father makes a perfect addition to the state government. He possesses all the qualities of a good politician. Senate certainly deserves him." Lane asked Reece afterward, "Exactly what are the qualities of a good politician?" Reese replied, "He's a master at telling people exactly what they want to hear."
After 'Savannah' ended its run on WB in February 1997, Fox ordered 'Pacific Palisades' from Aaron Spelling without requiring a pilot to be filmed first. The series was created by Dianne Messina Stanley and James Stanley. It was understood Fox first ordered six episodes of the series based solely on the Stanleys' pilot script and commissioned seven additional scripts.
As reported, "The last episode of 'Savannah' completed filming on February 12, 1997 and the first episode of 'Pacific Palisades' began shooting on February 28, 1997." Dianne Messina Stanley remembered, "We were still doing post-production on one while we were doing pre-production on the other. Right around Christmas (1996), we literally would spend mornings with one staff doing scripts for 'Savannah' and afternoons with another staff working on a bible for 'Palisades'."
Set in the pricy SoCal enclave of Pacific Palisades, James Stanley stated, "Fox has said that they would like it to be 'Knots Landing' for the '90s. Whether it turns out that way, we're still not sure. But we think that there will be the opportunity to be a little more serious than we were in 'Savannah'."
In all, 13 episodes went on air between April and July 1997.
Speaking to Scott Pierce, James Stanley recounted, "Initially, they (Fox) wanted 'Melrose (Place)' 10 years older - this was a pilot that was written for NBC. What happened was ... well, who knows what happens? They passed, although, personally, we think that 'Friends' hit, so every show went younger. So we looked at the show again, and we rewrote it so that it was a younger show. And it worked, actually, better that way for us.
"It's better for him (Aaron Spelling) if we can wrap things up after six in terms of selling it overseas, but he said, 'Just tell the best story'. He has enormous confidence based on what he's seen and just talking to the network." Kinney Littlefield noted, "Classic vamp Joan Collins joins the cast April 30 (1997) to counterprogram Ellen's coming-out-of-the-closet episode the same night on ABC."
Originally the 'Pacific Palisades' project was known as 'Brentwood'. However, Aaron Spelling revealed, "With what's happened in Brentwood, we just thought we should change the title. So now it's 'Pacific Palisades'. It's like 'Melrose' three years later. The people are real estate agents, architects, a plastic surgeon. So they're all not living together in an apartment building."
Of the story, Dianne Messina Stanley added, "It's about young professionals in Southern California. We like to say they're young people who have it all, it just isn't paid for yet. They're living a little bit on the edge." James Stanley pointed out, "Los Angeles has this sense of glamor, and they have bought into it." Of the couple (played by Michelle Stafford and Jarrod Emick) who moved to Pacific Palisades from the Midwest, Dianne Messina Stanley made known, "Oh, a lot of it is from personal observation."
Dianne Messina Stanley clarified, "We're both Midwesterners, and we've been here (in Hollywood) awhile. But I'm still a small-town girl, and I'm still kind of amazed sometimes by the things I see. Everyone has different tastes, so I'm sure there are some people who would like to see more drama or melodrama. But, for the most part, we find that people do enjoy it. And I like doing comedy more in this kind of a show, because - unlike a sitcom - you don't have to do set-up, gag, set-up, gag.
"It can just be a fun scene coming from the characters. We think that, without getting into necessarily heavy-handed storytelling, that we can make observations about people and life and situations that are still of some value. We are able, occasionally, to deal with an issue - whether it's alcoholism or child abuse or whatever - and bring a point of view to an audience that might not tune into a show that's just about that."
Finola Hughes told 'The Orange County Register', "Pacific Palisades is where Aaron said his characters would move from Melrose Place, after they made it. The way the Stanleys have written the show, there's a real sense of humor. And of course every Spelling show is about conflict." In preparing for her role, a woman with "traditional values'', Finola Hughes admitted, "Actually, I spent a very long time trying to choose the perfect lipstick to prep for Spelling. I decided on a very neutral sheer color from Francois Nars. It's called Dolce Vita.''
In 2003, Darren Rea spoke with Ray Wise about the movie, 'Jeepers Creepers 2'. In their conversation, Ray Wise remarked, "I don't think that the movie going public, or the television viewing public, are as well read as we were in the past. There's not as many people that tend to read the great novels and plays that are available to them. I think there is a definite lack and deficiency in that today.
"I've had the kind of low key career that is ideal for me. It's meant that I have been able to go back and forth between bad guys and good guys, playing the whole spectrum of characters all across the board. That's been a lot of fun. Of all my roles, Leland Palmer in 'Twin Peaks' was the one that had the biggest impact on the world, but even after that I wasn't typecast, so I feel very fortunate in the way my career has progressed.
"I loved playing Leland Palmer, because I did it over such a long period of time - all of the television episodes and then the movie. (In a movie) you play the character and do a week's worth of work and it lasts on screen for an hour and then that character's finished. You never go back to it and you write it off and move on to the next thing. Whereas with Leland Palmer it was week after week and I got a reoccurring character who evolves over time. It was rather like living another life."
Of playing characters in real-time strategy video games such as the 'Red Alert' series, Ray Wise made the point, "Acting is acting. There's a lot of live action in computer games now (in 2003), and I played The President of the United States in those games and I really enjoyed it. They set up these little scenes, they had full sets and you're in costume. It's just like making a television show or movie and there you are in the game. I've played the games and I really like them and I enjoyed doing them."
Originally the 'Pacific Palisades' project was known as 'Brentwood'. However, Aaron Spelling revealed, "With what's happened in Brentwood, we just thought we should change the title. So now it's 'Pacific Palisades'. It's like 'Melrose' three years later. The people are real estate agents, architects, a plastic surgeon. So they're all not living together in an apartment building."
Of the story, Dianne Messina Stanley added, "It's about young professionals in Southern California. We like to say they're young people who have it all, it just isn't paid for yet. They're living a little bit on the edge." James Stanley pointed out, "Los Angeles has this sense of glamor, and they have bought into it." Of the couple (played by Michelle Stafford and Jarrod Emick) who moved to Pacific Palisades from the Midwest, Dianne Messina Stanley made known, "Oh, a lot of it is from personal observation."
Dianne Messina Stanley clarified, "We're both Midwesterners, and we've been here (in Hollywood) awhile. But I'm still a small-town girl, and I'm still kind of amazed sometimes by the things I see. Everyone has different tastes, so I'm sure there are some people who would like to see more drama or melodrama. But, for the most part, we find that people do enjoy it. And I like doing comedy more in this kind of a show, because - unlike a sitcom - you don't have to do set-up, gag, set-up, gag.
"It can just be a fun scene coming from the characters. We think that, without getting into necessarily heavy-handed storytelling, that we can make observations about people and life and situations that are still of some value. We are able, occasionally, to deal with an issue - whether it's alcoholism or child abuse or whatever - and bring a point of view to an audience that might not tune into a show that's just about that."
Finola Hughes told 'The Orange County Register', "Pacific Palisades is where Aaron said his characters would move from Melrose Place, after they made it. The way the Stanleys have written the show, there's a real sense of humor. And of course every Spelling show is about conflict." In preparing for her role, a woman with "traditional values'', Finola Hughes admitted, "Actually, I spent a very long time trying to choose the perfect lipstick to prep for Spelling. I decided on a very neutral sheer color from Francois Nars. It's called Dolce Vita.''
In 2003, Darren Rea spoke with Ray Wise about the movie, 'Jeepers Creepers 2'. In their conversation, Ray Wise remarked, "I don't think that the movie going public, or the television viewing public, are as well read as we were in the past. There's not as many people that tend to read the great novels and plays that are available to them. I think there is a definite lack and deficiency in that today.
"I've had the kind of low key career that is ideal for me. It's meant that I have been able to go back and forth between bad guys and good guys, playing the whole spectrum of characters all across the board. That's been a lot of fun. Of all my roles, Leland Palmer in 'Twin Peaks' was the one that had the biggest impact on the world, but even after that I wasn't typecast, so I feel very fortunate in the way my career has progressed.
"I loved playing Leland Palmer, because I did it over such a long period of time - all of the television episodes and then the movie. (In a movie) you play the character and do a week's worth of work and it lasts on screen for an hour and then that character's finished. You never go back to it and you write it off and move on to the next thing. Whereas with Leland Palmer it was week after week and I got a reoccurring character who evolves over time. It was rather like living another life."
Of playing characters in real-time strategy video games such as the 'Red Alert' series, Ray Wise made the point, "Acting is acting. There's a lot of live action in computer games now (in 2003), and I played The President of the United States in those games and I really enjoyed it. They set up these little scenes, they had full sets and you're in costume. It's just like making a television show or movie and there you are in the game. I've played the games and I really like them and I enjoyed doing them."
