Aaron Spelling

1984 pilot about aerobics instructors by day, secret agents by night is a buried treasure

I don’t know why CBS/Paramount is the only big studio doing TV-on-DVD releases on a regular basis (even if it’s often split-season, music-altered releases), but they are, and their commitment to the Aaron Spelling Productions catalogue continues with the first half of the first season of Vega$. This show, one of the seminal products of TV’s disco era, combined formula storytelling, titillation, insane story ideas, the late Robert Urich in the most successful of his many, many series, and Tony Curtis as a dude named “Philip Roth,” the most bizarre character name choice since the second lead in Kiss Me Kate was named “Lois Lane.”

I’ve been having a surprisingly good time in a talking-back-to-the-screen sort of way with the season 1 DVD of Hotel, due out July 21. The show is really terrible in a lovable kind of way, perhaps the worst-written of Aaron Spelling’s successful series (and anyone who has ever watched a Spelling show knows that this is saying something). It was Dynasty meets The Love Boat: after Love Boat was canceled past its prime, Spelling bought Arthur Hailey’s novel Hotel and used it to carry on his favourite format, the guest-star vehicle. As on the Pacific Princess, a mix of old, young, famous and semi-famous guest stars would have various romantic problems, one of which would involve one of the members of the permanent cast. But because Spelling’s most successful show at the time was Dynasty, the problems were mostly soapy and sensationalistic.