Memories for a Spelling

Wow...Aaron Spelling died. Somehow, I never really thought he would. He's been such a part of TV, from Charlie's Angels to Beverly Hills 90210, that I guess I just came to think of him as someone whose name would always be there.

Did you know that from 1960 to 1989 not a year went by he didn't have at least one series on the air?

Did you know that (among other movies) he produced the very funny satire Soapdish?

Did you know he has a connection to one of my least-favorite writers? He produced a movie that Ilene Chaiken (of The L Word) acted as associate producer on, the notoriously bad Satisfaction.

...and to one of my most-favorite. He gave an early break in television to Harlan Ellison (of The Twilight Zone, many great stories and essays and hell, if you don't know who he is, read this). In his collection of film reviews Ellison tells a great story about winning a bet from Spelling.

I was a little too young to appreciate Charlie's Angels in its first run. I'll admit to developing a certain...fondness for Cheryl Ladd in one or two of the re-runs, for some reason, but that's neither here (sadly) nor there.

BTW, no offense to the dead intended, but choosing between running a photo of him or of her...well, you understand.

And I was a little too old for 90210. My "favorite" Spelling production memories would probably be...

The Rookies, reruns of which I briefly got hooked on when I was around 13.

Hart To Hart. Admit it. Even now, you can hear Max's gravelly voice over the opening credits. "This is my boss, Jonathan Hart, a self-made millionaire. This is Mrs. H. She's quite a lady..."

I remember my mom always liked Family.

A TV-movie spoof of then current television detectives called Murder Can Hurt You.

Fantasy Island! I was seven. Mr. Roarke was god.

And yeah, The Love Boat. I watched it. You watched it. Just think of all those hours we're never going to get back.

Used to have lots of fun playing T.J. Hooker with an ex-roommate of mine. This basically involved me barking "T.J.! Stop that car!" at odd intervals and he would have to immidiately throw himself across the hood of the nearest vehicle. Maybe you had to be there.

And believe it or not, I never felt able to jump on the Tori-bashing wagon as hard as some people. I mean maybe I'm wrong, but in interviews I've read and such, she comes off as separating herself from the Paris Hiltons of the world by being one of those who gets what the joke about her is. I give her credit for spoofing herself in Scream 2, and she didn't completely stink up the joint in House Of Yes or Scary Movie 2. They're not great movies, but that's another matter. I'm not saying I'd let her near any of my characters...

Anyway, Spelling: Even when I wasn't watching his shows (which was most of the time)...he was just always there, you know?