Melrose Place (1992)

Hey, I make fun of Melrose Place — but I'm hypnotized by it. As warm-weather escapism, it takes all the issues facing this country, from unemployment to sexual harassment, and turns them into crises that can be solved in an hour. ... The show's most glaring flaw is that, like 90210, Melrose Place doesn't have a clue how to handle minority characters.

It's aggressively unambitious, with a sexual harassment story line having about as much impact as a new-roommate squabble over sharing peanut butter, but it's always easy on the eyes and never consequential to the intellect. [8 July 1992, p.1D]

Decidedly glutinous, non-nutritious dramatic fare with a high white-bread factor in that seven of the eight main characters are Caucasian and four of the five women are blondes. [8 July 1992]

What you get for the most part is a "thirtysomething" minus the years, the wit, the plot complexities and the rapport between ensemble members. [8 July 1992]

While Melrose's comely denizens sometimes do indicate more about human nature than a GQ or W cover, the angst and Sturm und Drang of Melrose Place's escapades basically manifest not so much as a new p.o.v. but a change in zip codes and sideburn length. [8 July 1992]

Although the ever-game, deserves-better Heather Locklear still spits out even the worst lines with snappish authority, and the diabolical-doctor duo of Jack Wagner and Thomas Calabro at least try to look interested, they can't sustain a show that has lost its best asset — a twisted joy in its own trashiness.

For all its soap-opera slickness, Beverly Hills 90210 manages to tap into real concerns of contemporary teens: dating, parents, friends, sex. Melrose Place thus far is tapping into nothing more than worn plot lines from The Young and the Restless.