The CBS series "Second Chances" debuted to generally excellent reviews last week, although many critics had a hard time admitting they liked it.
In various newspapers, critics made disparaging comments about the "soap opera" genre before admitting that they liked "Chances" and couldn't wait to see the next episode.Lynne Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick, the husband-and-wife team who create, produce and write the series, are beginning to become accustomed to good reviews following their acclaimed series "Homefront." But it wasn't always like that.
The pair toiled for years as both writers and producers of "Knots Landing," which the vast majority of critics dismissed - many without actually watching the show.
"It did surprise me and I was thrilled (with the raves for `Homefront')," Latham said.
And what was so ironic was that it wasn't Latham and Lechowick who'd changed. The style they brought to "Knots" they took with them to "Homefront." And now to "Chances."
The same style that was not only dismissed but actually denigrated when it was on "Knots."
"I think that it might be because `Knots' was at the height of its popularity during the `Dynasty' and `Dallas' period," Latham said. "And the three got lumped together . . . as rich people in melodramatic situations."
While there were rich people in melodramatic situations at times on "Knots," it was generally a much more down-to-earth series of events.
"I know one time on `Knots' we did a major storyline about a dead goldfish," said Latham.
Whereas "Knots" was lumped in with the glitzier "Dallas" and "Dynasty," "Homefront" "started fresh at a time when two of the major prime-time serials were gone and `Knots' was ending, and so there was some distance," Latham said. "And also, 10 years later, you look at so many shows and they have continuing storylines. `L.A. Law,' `thirtysomething' and lots of other shows had many, many continuing storylines.
"What had happened during that period is that most of the major shows had picked up the continuing story arc. So you couldn't label a show (as a soap) just because it had continuing story arcs.
"When `Dynasty' and `Dallas' and `Knots' started, they were the only shows that had continuing stories. Now, everything is continuing."
A look at the network schedules confirms that. And not just on dramas - everything from "Sisters" to "Northern Exposure" to "NYPD Blue" to "Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman" - but on sitcoms as well.
"Murphy Brown," "Full House," "Coach," "Seinfeld" and other half-hour comedies contain multiple-episode story arcs, some lasting an entire season.
"I think they've done it beautifully on `Roseanne.' Look how many continuing stories they've had on that show," Latham said.
But is creating a continuing story involving a rather large cast (11 major characters in "Second Chances") difficult?
"I think, in a way, it affords us more story opportunities," Latham said. "We can do various story arcs and we don't have to concentrate on one character. And the story, I would hope, would flow easily among the three different groups or three families. So, in a sense, it is a help to us rather than a problem."