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Passions is an American television soap opera. Veteran soap opera writer James E. Reilly created the program, which debuted on NBC July 5, 1999. Passions follows the various romantic and supernatural adventures of the residents of Harmony, a fictional New England hamlet.
Storylines
Major storylines throughout the soap's run have included Eve's (played by Tracey Ross) affair with Crane heir Julian (Ben Masters), Whitney's (Brook Kerr) romantic relationship with her half-brother Chad (Donn Swaby, then Charles Divins), Theresa's (Lindsay Hartley) interference in Ethan (Travis Schuldt, then Eric Martsolf) and Gwen's (Liza Huber) marriage, Kay's (Taylor Anne Mountz, Deanna Wright, then Heidi Mueller) continued desire to be with her cousin's boyfriend Miguel (Jesse Metcalfe), Sheridan (McKenzie Westmore) and Luis's (Galen Gering) continued separation from each other, and Tabitha's (Juliet Mills) destruction of the citizens of Harmony.
History
Passions debuted with major fanfare (Reilly had been credited for a large surge in the ratings for Days of Our Lives) but also some controversy (lead heroine Sheridan's best friend was the late Princess Diana, and in flashbacks, Sheridan spoke to Diana on the phone right before she was killed). Originally, the viewers of Another World (which Passions replaced) largely held a vendetta against the new show as the stories told were markedly different from the ones they were used to. Many viewers did decide to stay with the new soap, however.
The show was known for supernatural hijinks and protracted storylines. Much of the criticism derived from the show's delusional view of women, such as Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald (Lindsay Hartley), who was presented as a "heroine" even though she stalked her "true love" for months, used every trick in the book to undermine his fiancee, Gwen, married his father, and eventually when Ethan and Gwen hired a surrogate to carry their child, drugged the surrogate and crawled into bed with a clueless Ethan so that she could have his baby.
At one point NBC announced plans to have a Saturday morning spinoff of Passions teenage characters, but for one reason or another, the series never materialized. Passions itself continues to score strong teenage and young female demographics for NBC, but has never risen out of last place in the ratings.
For much of the first 3-4 years of the series, supernatural elements such as witches, warlocks, and closet doors leading to Hell were major plot points. One central character was Charity (Molly Stanton), a saccharine young woman who would regularly become possessed by the "forces of evil" and turn into "Evil Charity", "Zombie Charity", etc. NBC even made a deal with the owners of Bewitched to allow Dr. Bombay to appear in scenes with witch Tabitha Lenox (not to be confused with Bewitched's Tabith Stevens). Dr. Bombay appeared once, but Bewitched nixed any future visits; however, when Tabitha had a child in 2004, she named the baby Endora.
Over time, Passions moved away from supernatural elements and began to concentrate on the usual array of love triangles and returns from the dead. One of their most popular storylines was the interracial romance between filthy rich letch Julian Crane (Ben Masters) and icy doctor Eve Russell (Tracey Ross). Their '70s love affair produced a child, but Julian's father Alistair demanded they break up so Julian could marry a more "suitable" woman. Eve married former tennis star TC (Rodney Van Johnson) and had 2 daughters, Whitney (Brook Kerr) and Simone (Lena Cardwell, Chrystee Pharris-Larkins, then Cathy Jeneen Doe). 3 decades later, the revelations of Julian and Eve's love as well as the news that Eve had caused the car accident which ended TC's tennis career led TC to dump Eve and take up with her sister. Julian, who had never stopped loving Eve, reunited with her after giving up his boozing and adulterous ways.
One unfortunate trademark for Passions has been eerie deaths. In 2002, Josh Ryan Evans, who played Tabitha's extremely popular doll sidekick Timmy, died while on medical leave, just as scenes were airing where Timmy died on the operating table and went to Heaven. Passions had planned to revive the character once Evans returned from his own surgery, but instead had to write Timmy out. After 5 years of evil Crane patriarch Alistair only being heard by phone (voiced by Alan Oppenheimer), Passions finally cast the role with longtime soap vet David Bailey. Bailey was a hit with the cast as well as the fans, but on Thanksgiving Day 2004, he drowned in his pool, just as scenes were airing where various characters tried to kill Alastair. Again, the viewers and the producers were stunned, but the show had no choice but to recast the pivotal role (with John Reilly).
As of the end of 2004, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald finally had a dream fulfilled; she became the mother of Ethan Winthrop Sr.'s first living biological child, a daughter, thanks to drugging and raping him. (Ethan has an adopted son, Ethan Jr., and two deceased children, Sarah and Nathan.) Unfortunately, Gwen's crime left her paralyzed.
Cast
Current Cast Members
- Silvana Arias (Paloma Lopez-Fitzgerald)
- Charles Divins (Chad Harris)
- Cathy Jeneen Doe (Simone Russell)
- Daphnee Duplaix Samuel (Valerie Davis)
- Galen Gering (Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald)
- Justin Hartley (Nicholas Foxworth Crane)
- Lindsay Hartley (Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald)
- Liza Huber (Gwen Hotchkiss Winthrop)
- James Hyde (Sam Bennett)
- Brook Kerr (Whitney Russell)
- Amelia Marshall (Liz Sanbourne)
- Eric Martsolf (Ethan Winthrop, Sr.)
- Ben Masters (Julian Crane)
- Juliet Mills (Tabitha Lenox)
- Heidi Mueller (Kay Bennett)
- John Reilly (Alistair Crane)
- Tracey Ross (Dr. Eve Russell)
- Richard Steinmetz (Martin Fitzgerald)
- Danica Stewart (Jessica Bennett)
- Eva Tamargo (Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald)
- Kim Johnston Ulrich (Ivy Winthrop)
- Rodney Van Johnson (T.C. Russell)
- McKenzie Westmore (Sheridan Crane Lopez-Fitzgerald)
- Leigh Taylor Young (Katherine Crane)
Recurring Cast Members
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