Paper Dolls
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''Paper Dolls'' is an American
primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
television
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
that aired for 14 episodes on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
from September 23 to December 25, 1984. Set in New York's fashion industry, the show centered on top modeling agency owner Racine (
Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...
), her conflicts with the family of cosmetics tycoon Grant Harper (
Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...
), and the careers of two teenaged models ( Terry Farrell and
Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera '' Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the rom ...
). The series was based on a 1982
television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
of the same name. The show suffered in the ratings, despite positive reviews, and was cancelled midway through the first season.


1982 television film

Prior to the television series, a television film had been made and shown in 1982. The television film was based more around modeling than the fashion industry, and featured
Joan Hackett Joan Ann Hackett (March 1, 1934 – October 8, 1983) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She starred in the 1967 western ''Will Penny''. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and won the Golde ...
,
Jennifer Warren Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director. Early life and education She was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of actress Paula Bauersmith and Dr. Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her unc ...
,
Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
,
Daryl Hannah Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film '' The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, i ...
, and
Alexandra Paul Alexandra Elizabeth Paul (born July 29, 1963) is an American actress, activist, health coach, and former model. Paul began her career modeling in New York before landing her first major role in John Carpenter's horror film ''Christine'' (1983). ...
in the roles that were taken by Fairchild, Sheridan, and Farrell in the series (Warren and Jeffrey Richman were the only two actors to appear in both the television film and the 1984 series). The film's theme song was "Paper Doll", written by
Mark Snow Mark Snow (born Martin Fulterman; August 26, 1946) is an American composer for film and television. Among his most famous compositions is the theme music for science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The theme reached no. 2 on the UK Si ...
and performed by Brock Walsh.


1984 television series

In 1984, MGM decided to produce a weekly series based on the television film for ABC, recasting several of the original roles from the 1982 production. Racine (Morgan Fairchild) was the owner of a prestigious Manhattan modeling agency, and was frequently at odds with Grant Harper (Lloyd Bridges), who helmed the board of Harper Cosmetics, a division of his family's corporation, Harper WorldWide Incorporated. Grant was well-meaning, but he could be relentless and stubborn in getting his own way with business and his family. Playing both sides was Grant's son Wesley (
Dack Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in the ...
), who craved more power in the family business and allied himself romantically with Racine. (Wesley also resented his father, whom he blamed for the accidental death of his mother, Grant's first wife, Virginia.) Grant was then married to his second wife, Marjorie ( Nancy Olson). Wesley's half-sister, Blair Harper Fenton (
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are ''Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the grea ...
; Marjorie was her mother) was a supermodel, (in fact, she was Racine's first client when she opened her modeling agency, and she was also considered a good friend of Racine's) who was fearing her career was on the downslide now that she was 30 years old and pregnant. Despite health problems, Blair was determined to carry her baby to full term. Grant tended to fawn over Blair a lot. Blair's husband David Fenton (
Richard Beymer George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of ''West Side Story'' (1961), Peter in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horne on the telev ...
) was a sportswear designer (he owned Tempus Sportswear). David and Wesley were at odds because of the former marrying his half-sister. Unfortunately, because David was too proud to accept financial assistance from his in-laws, the Harpers, his business partner had to resort to accepting money from loan sharks to fund his upcoming collection, which put David and Blair in serious danger. Eventually, David did ask his father in-law for help, the results of which brought Tempus under the Harper WorldWide banner, paid off the loan in full, and also the interest. Racine was also at odds with Taryn Blake (Nicollette Sheridan), the top teen model in the business, who was proving to be a liability due to unprofessional behavior, problems with drugs and alcohol, and a sensationalized romance with 1980s pop star
John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...
(playing himself for several episodes). To keep Taryn and her demanding mother/manager Julia (
Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...
) in line, Racine decided to promote a new fresh teen face, a young woman named Laurie Caswell (Terry Farrell). The naive and innocent Laurie was not prepared for the fast success, despite her mother Dinah Anderson Caswell's (
Jennifer Warren Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director. Early life and education She was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of actress Paula Bauersmith and Dr. Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her unc ...
) best efforts to keep her grounded. Dinah, a former model herself, and having had previous modeling experience, spent time on her daughter's career that in turn started causing problems in her marriage to Michael Caswell (
John Bennett Perry John Bennett Perry (born January 4, 1941) is an American actor, singer and former model. He is the father of actor Matthew Perry. Life and career Perry was born on January 4, 1941, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, the son of businessman, bank dir ...
), who was Laurie's stepfather. Michael disagreed with Laurie being a model; while Dinah saw it as a rewarding experience for Laurie, which would help her build up her low self-esteem, it also reminded her of her own days as a model. Despite their vast differences, Taryn and Laurie became good friends. Laurie attended public school in her hometown, Stonehurst, on Long Island, despite her being a model. Taryn wished that Dinah, who was much more compassionate than the overbearing Julia, was her mother. Vindictive and mean-spirited Julia merely saw her daughter as a meal ticket, and Taryn, who only wanted to be a normal teenager, clearly resented that. Because of this, mother and daughter clashed repeatedly. Julia, who was also very greedy, also dreaded the day that Taryn would turn 17, because then her daughter would be considered legal age as a model and the money would go directly to her and not to her mother. Julia and Dinah would also become rivals because of Taryn and Laurie being models. Because her life as a successful model was severely regimented by Julia, Taryn, who had been a model ever since she was a small child, was very lonely and she was not often allowed to socialize with other people her age. Because of this, Taryn saw Laurie as the only real friend she had, and she offered to teach her all she knew about the world of modeling and fashion. Laurie not only had to deal with the pressures of the world of modeling, but as she was still in public school, she had to also contend with the regular trials of teenaged friends and high school grades. Mark Bailey (
Roscoe Born Roscoe Conklin Born (November 24, 1950 – March 3, 2020) was an American actor and songwriter. He is best known for his roles on various television soap operas, most notably as archvillain Mitch Laurence on ''One Life to Live'' in six stints ...
), a reporter doing a story on the fashion industry, became enamored with Racine, causing problems in his relationship with sensible lawyer Sara Frank (
Anne Schedeen Luanne Ruth Schedeen (born January 8, 1949), known professionally as Anne Schedeen, is an American actress who worked primarily in television. She appeared in numerous guest-starring television roles in the 1970s before portraying the lead role ...
), who was Blair's best friend. A suspicious Sara cautioned her boyfriend on becoming too interested in Racine, commenting, "She's been in more beds than a hotel breakfast tray!" She still admired Racine's success, by commenting, "She's done well for a girl named off of a map of
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
."


Reception

The series attempted to ride the wave of popular glossy nighttime soaps, such as ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'' and ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
''. When ''Paper Dolls'' premiered in September 1984, the first episode achieved an 18.4 rating. It featured the requisite stock pleasures such as big business, glamour, intrigue, catfights, and verbal spats (particularly between Racine and most of the other characters). In one scene, Mark entered Racine's office while she was getting a massage. He asked, "Do you want me to wait outside until you're decent?" Racine responded, "How much time do you have?" In another scene, an irate Julia, brandishing a Barbie-style fashion doll of her daughter, stormed into Racine's office. "This will not be the new Taryn Blake doll!" she barked. "The eyes are brown!" Coolly, Racine quipped, "I guess they couldn't quite match that bloodshot tone." Even with a series of rave reviews in ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' urging viewers to give the show a chance, ratings were low and the series was not able to find an audience, due in large part because the show had been pre-empted on some weeks by the baseball playoffs. The final episode of the series found David on the verge of failure after an influential fashion critic was blackmailed by Wesley and Racine to pan his new sportswear collection; Grant's wife Marjorie ( Nancy Olson) was feared dead in a plane crash; and Racine received a call from Mark intimating that his digging into her secretive past had uncovered something very interesting. The cliffhangers were left unresolved.


Cast and characters


Main

*
Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...
as Grant Harper *
Jennifer Warren Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director. Early life and education She was born in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, the daughter of actress Paula Bauersmith and Dr. Barnet M. Warren, a dentist. Her unc ...
as Dinah Caswell *
Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...
as Julia Blake *
Dack Rambo Norman Jay Rambo (November 13, 1941 – March 21, 1994), professionally known as Dack Rambo, was an American actor, widely known for his role as Walter Brennan's grandson Jeff in the series ''The Guns of Will Sonnett'', as Steve Jacobi in the ...
as Wesley Harper *
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are ''Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the grea ...
as Blair Harper Fenton *
Richard Beymer George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the film version of ''West Side Story'' (1961), Peter in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horne on the telev ...
as David Fenton *
Anne Schedeen Luanne Ruth Schedeen (born January 8, 1949), known professionally as Anne Schedeen, is an American actress who worked primarily in television. She appeared in numerous guest-starring television roles in the 1970s before portraying the lead role ...
as Sara Frank *
John Bennett Perry John Bennett Perry (born January 4, 1941) is an American actor, singer and former model. He is the father of actor Matthew Perry. Life and career Perry was born on January 4, 1941, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, the son of businessman, bank dir ...
as Michael Caswell * Nancy Olson as Marjorie Harper *
Nicollette Sheridan Nicollette Sheridan (born 21 November 1963) is an English-born American actress. She began her career as a fashion model before landing a role in the short-lived ABC primetime soap opera '' Paper Dolls'' in 1984, as well as starring in the rom ...
as Taryn Blake * Terry Farrell as Laurie Caswell * Lauren Hutton as Colette Ferrier *
Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...
as Racine


Supporting

*
Roscoe Born Roscoe Conklin Born (November 24, 1950 – March 3, 2020) was an American actor and songwriter. He is best known for his roles on various television soap operas, most notably as archvillain Mitch Laurence on ''One Life to Live'' in six stints ...
as Mark Bailey * Don Bowren as Christopher York *
Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Commander William Riker in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. Frakes als ...
as Sandy Paris * John Reilly as Jake Larner *
Larry Linville Lawrence Lavon Linville (September 29, 1939 – April 10, 2000) was an American actor known for his portrayal of the surgeon Major Frank Burns on the television series ''M*A*S*H''. Early life and education Linville was born in Ojai, California ...
as Grayson Carr *
Thom Mathews Thomas Mathews (born November 28, 1958) is an American actor best known for his roles as Tommy Jarvis in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise—in particular '' Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives'' (1986)—and Freddy in ''The Return of the Li ...
as Lewis Crosby * Alan Fudge as Dr. Van Adams *
Jeffrey Richman Jeffrey Richman is an American writer, producer and actor. Producer * ''Uncoupled'' (2022): executive producer * ''Modern Family'': co-executive producer * ''Stacked'' * ''Frasier'': executive producer * ''Charlie Lawrence'' (2003): executive pr ...
as Conrad *
Jordan Christopher Jordan Christopher (October 23, 1940 – January 21, 1996) was an American actor and singer. He was the lead singer of The Wild Ones, who recorded the original version of the rock classic " Wild Thing" after Christopher had left the band. Earl ...
as Oliver * Sue Giosa as Marie * Mark Schneider as Sammy *
John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...
as himself


Syndication and international broadcast

Reruns of the series have been shown on the SOAPnet cable channel in the United States. The series was also shown in the United Kingdom by the
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
network in the mid-1980s, though schedules varied per region. It was also shown in Italy on
Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...
under the name ''Il profumo del successo'' (''The Taste of Success''), and in Germany under the title ''Karussell der Puppen'' (''Doll Carousel''). In South America and Spain, it was broadcast as ''Muñecas de Papel''. In Sweden it was broadcast 1986 on TV2 under the name ''Modedockorna'' (''The Fashion Dolls'').


References


External links

* (1982 television film) * {{IMDb title, id=0086775, title=Paper Dolls (1984 series) 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming American primetime television soap operas American television soap operas English-language television shows Modeling-themed television series Television series by MGM Television Television shows set in Los Angeles Television shows set in New York City