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Another Life (1981 TV series)
American television soap opera From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Another Life is an American television soap opera produced and broadcast by The Christian Broadcasting Network from June 1, 1981 to October 5, 1984. It was co-created by both Gerard T. Straub and the late Jason Vinley and ran for 875 episodes. It attempted to combine standard afternoon intrigue with religious overtones, as many characters were portrayed as born again who relied on the power of prayer to solve their problems. Set in the fictional east coast town of Kingsley (ostensibly thought to be in Virginia), the show was taped in CBN's hometown of Virginia Beach, Virginia.[1]
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Synopsis
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Throughout its run, Another Life revolved around the Davidson family - local anchorman Scott Davidson (John Corsaut), his wife Terry (Mary Jean Feton), who works as a Nurse, daughter Lori (Jeannette Larson and later Debbie McLeod) and teenage son Peter (Darrel Campbell). Although the Davidsons sometime struggled with their faith, they stuck by their principles and showed compassion towards their fellow man - most notably next-door neighbor Liz Cummings (Carolyn Collings) who lives with her alcoholic and adulterous husband Jeff (Tom McGowan) and their daughter Jenny (Amy Williams)- and eschew revenge on those who have caused them grief.[2]
Wealthy businessman Charles Carpenter (the late Randy Kraft) attempted to control every situation with his power and influence and held a grudge against the Davidsons, particularly after Scott investigated a crime story involving a mob gang which has connections with Kingsley's uppercrust, which included the Carpenter family. Charles' daughter Miriam Mason (Ginger Burgett) also held a grudge against the Davidsons and filed an adultery case against Lori, accusing her of having an affair with Miriam's husband Paul (the late Robert Bendall), a lecturer at Kingsley College. Although it was later proved that Paul and Lori were innocent, Paul and Miriam get a divorce, with Miriam losing custody of their son Frederick- although it is often hinted that Paul does indeed have feelings for Lori. Charles would later date Terry Davidson's half-sister, the equally nefarious Nancy Lawson (Nancy Hathaway) who also clashes with the Davidsons and uses her charms to lure wealthy men into relationships with her, but never appears to hold down a steady career.
Russell "Russ" Vincent Weaver (Christopher Roland) is a pre-medical student who is about to propose to Lori. Russ found himself tangled with the drug ring when he is left with a huge debt after paying Lori's medical bills, following a serious car accident the couple are involved in. Russ is also torn between Lori and fellow peer Rebecca "Becky" Lynn Hewitt (Susan Scannell-Gilbert), who is Lori's best friend. Unknown to Lori, Becky slept with Russ after he grew frustrated with Lori's refusal to have sex with him, due to her Christian beliefs. Lori would later catch the attention of Ben Martin (Matt Williams), a handsome but older doctor who attended to Lori after her and Russ' car accident: this infuriated Russ even after Lori breaks up with him. Russ's father is later revealed to be Vince Cardello (the late Michael M. Ryan), a member of the local mob.
Russ and Becky secretly marry. Shortly after, Becky became the lead singer of the rock band Summerwind. The lead guitarist and founder, Phil Hayes (the late Scott Russell Brown), falls for Becky, thus creating tension in her relationship with Russ. Becky later becomes pregnant by Russ, but miscarries due to Summerwind's hectic schedule. After discovering Russ had cheated on her with another student Sheila Carter (Nancy Pope) and that their wedding is not legal, Becky left Russ to pursue a solo singing career in New York.
The Davidsons were also close friends of the Redlons, an African-American family which included the deeply religious Ione (the late Edye Byrde) and her son Gene (Eddie Hailey), who is Scott's colleague. Gene's Son James Eugene "Jimmy" (Aaron White then Troy Chandler Paris) is hospitalized following a drug overdose, but refused to name his dealer. Later, Gene became involved in a custody battle with his Wife Carla (Elain Graham and kari Selenow) over Jimmy, who was often stuck in the middle; the situation is not helped when Carla puts her singing career before her family. Scott and Gene realized there was a connection between the mob and drug ring and both men vowed to investigate, leading to their dismissal at work, after their TV station receives threats.[3]
The Cummings family were eventually written out of "Another Life", while more families were featured: the Prescotts and the Phillips.
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Production
One of the program's creators, Bob Aaron, left the show, after a dispute on one of the show's most heavy-handed moments when Jeff was in the hospital suffering from cancer, and was miraculously healed when a beam of light entered his hospital room. Declaring such soap writing "deplorable", Aaron quit the show soon after.
On the set
Eddie Hailey, who played the non-Christian part of Gene Redlon, is actually the son of a minister. At the time of making the series, he had been a born again for some time. He credited his rebirth into Christianity as a result of his failure to win the part of Alex Haley in Roots: The Next Generations. He started attending a Los Angeles church that Bob Dylan went to. One day, he was reading a Parish magazine saw something about Another Life and later successfully auditioned for a part. While on the set of Another Life, he would lead the cast in a half hour prayer service each morning.[4][5]
Title sequences and theme music
During its first nine months on the air, Another Life had a simple opening shot of a beach at sunrise. Brent Havens, who was the music director of CBN's signature show, The 700 Club, composed the theme music. The original opening and closing arrangement consisted of a trumpet solo, backed by quietly played strings and a Rhodes electric piano, which was a frequently used instrument in the show's music cues.
In March 1982, a new, jazzier opening was introduced. This sequence consisted of dramatic scenes from past episodes (which changed regularly), and close-ups of all the main characters. At the end of the montage, a shot of Terry praying in her kitchen dissolves into the sunrise beach scene from the original opening. A "hotlicks" version of Brent Havens' theme music was used for the new opening, but the quiet original arrangement continued to be used for the end credits, which featured stills from that day's episode.
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Cancellation
In 1984, Another Life was cancelled due to low ratings and a shortage of advertising revenues. In its first year, 68 stations nationwide bought syndication rights to the show which reached an estimated 50,000,000 households daily, but as it entered its third year the number of stations buying the program had dropped to 25, and television ratings showed that Another Life was reaching just 500,000 households.[6]
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Airings
Reruns of the series were shown on Trinity Broadcasting Network during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but have not aired in the United States since. The show has aired in the United Kingdom on the GOD TV, and in the Middle East on Middle East Television. Episodes have also been uploaded onto YouTube, and the show remains popular in Africa, particularly in Nigeria; in an interview with The Punch, Nollywood producer/director Zeb Ejiro revealed Another Life had inspired his own soap opera Ripples.[7] As of 2017, Another Life is broadcast in the Netherlands by Christian cable channel Family7.
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Cast
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Notable cast members
One of the show's more successful alumni Susan Scannell (Becky Hewitt), left after the first year to join the cast of Search for Tomorrow. Dee Dee Bridgewater had a minor role as Sam Marshall, Gene Redlon's boss and later love interest.[8] Additionally, Paul Gleason, who originated the role of troublemaker Lee Carothers, would go on to greater fame as high school principal Richard Vernon in the 1985 film The Breakfast Club. Also, Matt Williams moved behind the camera after the series ended, writing for The Cosby Show before going on to create Roseanne and co-creating Home Improvement.
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References
External links
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