Behind the Screen (TV series)

American television series

For the 1916 film of the same name, see Behind the Screen.

Behind the Screen

Cast of Behind The Screen

Created by| David Jacobs
Country of origin| United States
No. of seasons| 1
No. of episodes| 13
Original release
Network| CBS
Release| October 9, 1981 (1981-10-09) –
January 8, 1982 (1982-01-08)

Behind the Screen is an American late-night weekly serial which aired on CBS (Fridays, 11:30 PM EST) from October 9, 1981 to January 8, 1982.

## Series overview

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Behind the Screen was created by David Jacobs (Dallas, Knots Landing) for CBS, which wanted a late night counterpoint to ABC and NBC's more successful efforts in that timeslot. Drawing upon his experience with the prime-time serials, Behind the Screen was a dramatization of the goings-on at a fictional TV soap opera called Generations. This was not the first attempt to explore the concept of a "soap within a soap" as radio soaps had used the idea as far as back as the 1940s (A Woman To Remember). Ryan's Hope had also done a similar storyline in the early 1980s.[1]

The show premiered as an hour-long special, and regular episodes were 30 minutes. It revolved around the beautiful young star of Generations, Janie-Claire Willow (Janine Turner), who was a pawn in a power struggle between her wheelchair-using mother Zina (Joanne Linville), her powerful agent Evan (Mel Ferrer) and her show's leading man, Brian (Michael Sabatino).

The show's early pacing was described as "a bit meandering"[1] and it had problems finding an audience. Eventually the show was canceled after only 3 months on the air. The last episode concerned a backstage party where starlet Joyce Daniels was poisoned. Suspicion quickly fell on Lynette Porter (Debbi Morgan). In a bit of levity, Michele Lee (a star on Jacobs' Knots Landing) appeared as herself, playing a guest at the party; when questioned by police, she was mistakenly identified by the cops as Mary Tyler Moore.[1][2]

## Cast and characters

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The cast included Generations creator and producer Gerry Holmby (Joshua Bryant); his screenwriter wife Dory Ranfield (Loyita Chapel); his son, Brian Michael Sabatino, a cast member on Generations; Brian's lover Janie-Claire Willow, star of Generations; Janie-Claire's brother Jordan (Scott Mulhern); Janie-Claire's invalid mother Zina (Joanne Linville); her actress roommate Lynette Porter (Debbi Morgan); Janie-Claire and Lynette's conniving manager Evan Hammer (Mel Ferrer); movie mogul Merritt Madison (Warren Stevens); Merritt's son Karl (Mark Pinter), who is Dory's former lover; and Bobby Danzig (Bruce Fairbairn), a married lawyer who is struggling with his homosexuality.

## Episodes

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No.| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original air date| US viewers
(millions)

|
|
|
|
|

1| "Episode 1"| William E. Glenn| David Jacobs| October 9, 1981 (1981-10-09)| 7.4[3]
2| "Episode 2"| William E. Glenn| Ronnie Wenker-Konner| October 16, 1981 (1981-10-16)| 5.8
3| "Episode 3"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| October 23, 1981 (1981-10-23)| 6.7
4| "Episode 4"| William E. Glenn| Margaret DePriest| November 6, 1981 (1981-11-06)| 5.1
5| "Episode 5"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| November 13, 1981 (1981-11-13)| 5.7
6| "Episode 6"| William E. Glenn| Ronnie Wenker-Konner| November 20, 1981 (1981-11-20)| 6.2
7| "Episode 7"| William E. Glenn| Margaret DePriest| November 27, 1981 (1981-11-27)| 5.8
8| "Episode 8"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| December 4, 1981 (1981-12-04)| 5.4
9| "Episode 9"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| December 11, 1981 (1981-12-11)| 5.1
10| "Episode 10"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| December 18, 1981 (1981-12-18)| 5.5
11| "Episode 11"| William E. Glenn| Ronnie Wenker-Konner| December 25, 1981 (1981-12-25)| 4.4
12| "Episode 12"| William E. Glenn| Peggy Schibi| January 1, 1982 (1982-01-01)| 6.8
13| "Episode 13"| William E. Glenn| Ronnie Wenker-Konner| January 8, 1982 (1982-01-08)| 5.8

## References

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1. ^ a b c Christopher Schemering (1985). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345324595.
2. ^ Mary Ann Copeland (1991). Soap Opera History. Mallard Press. ISBN 0792454510.
3. ^ Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.

## External links

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* Behind The Screen at IMDb

*[No.]: Number