Dynasty on Steroids

Mancini2000

Melrose was, without a doubt, THE show of the 90's. Spawn from the popular 90210, Melrose developed into a show of backstabbing, bitterness, and bitchiness, a quality no other show since has mastered. For three seasons, the show brought grade A camp and sleaziness to television. Backstabbing, betrayl, lies, weddings, murder, affairs, setups, and shocking twists all lead up to the explosive third season finale in which crazy Kimberly caused the entire Melrose complex to explode. After the fiery (and much hyped) forth season premiere, the show went too far with ridiculous storylines and complicated twists. Instead of being a pleasure to watch, it became a puzzle to figure out. By the end of the season, Jane was burying Richard alive, Kimberly was calling herself Betsy and giving lobotomies to Peter, and Billy was the top dog at D&D. The show did MAJOR changes behind the scenes and returned with an intriging fifth season, full of twists and turns that kept you on the edge of your seat. However, by season's end, Melrose had lost a lot of key players. Though the fifth season finale pulled the steamy cliffhanger of Sydney hit by a car on her wedding day, Melrose was facing a large gap to fill in the sixth season. With no Jake, Alison, Kimberly, Jo, Sydney, or Jane, MP was in BIG trouble. They tried to fill in the absence with Lexi, Coop, Craig, Jennifer, and Megan, but it didn't take. Rotten storylines and the neverending Christine's death saga dragged the show to the pits. After nearly facing cancellation, MP retooled once again and returned the summer of 1998 (only to lose Billy, Samantha, Jennifer, Coop, and Taylor). But it was too late to save the sinking ship. Though the seventh season showed promise with sexy Lexi going up against Amanda and Kyle's sterility problem, 4616 Melrose Place got it's eviction notice and aired the "unforgettable" final episodes.  The series finale lacked that Melrose kick only supplied by the true unforgettable characters, Kimberly and Sydney.

score 10/10

Mancini2000 20 August 2000

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0302154/