Wednesday, August 6, 2008

FLASHBACK: RITUALS Debuts 1984

The syndicated soap opera RITUALS debuted on September 10, 1984, and only lasted one year. It was produced by Lorimar and created by Gene Palumbo, Ken Corday and Charlene Keel (the show was based on a novel written by Keel).

I really loved this show and remember it fondly. It starred Christine Jones, Mary Beth Evans, Philece Sampler, Gina Gallego, Jon Lindstrom, Kin Shriner, Kevin Spirtas and many other well-known soap actors. It also featured former sitcom stars Tina Louise and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs.

Check out a feature story on the show from Soap Opera Digest (issue date October 23, 1984) as well as a promo.







5 comments:

  1. I LOVED Rituals!!!

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  2. Thank you for posting from an old digest. It reminded me of how Soap Opera Digest used to be written. Lately the magazine summaries are written in non sequitur in order to avoid spoilers.

    I remember that SOD used to be weeks behind the actual story, but the summaries were so details they kept you hooked into the story.

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  3. As the author of the Dell novel Rituals (and one of several writers who worked on the pilot script that was the basis for the TV soap), I was delighted to see this post--and to learn that Rituals actually had fans. Maybe someday it will be revived on SoapNet. With 265 episodes in the can and storylines concluded at the end, it could provide many enjoyable hours of programming.
    Many thanks,
    Charlene Keel
    www.charlenekeel.com

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  4. Oh Charlene, did we ever LOVE that show. It has a cult following, and I wish they would release the episodes.

    I was 13 when the show premiered, and I was glued to my set - I was so excited to see PHILECE SAMPLER back on TV, as I had LOVED her on DAYS as RENEE, but I was bummed that the character was changed drastically from the pilot that was talked about in all the print media. She and Barbara Crampton were supposed to have been on the show as rivals, but the show that aired was a re-tooled version with Philece as a boring gym teacher. Oh well, I stuck with it until the end (and through all the recasts!). A great show!

    And yes, SOD used to be so well written. I have every copy from 1983 - 1989, and treasure them. I'm now a producer in LA and so sad I missed my opp to work on SOAPS when they were HUGE!

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  5. It would certainly be great to see this soap on Soapnet but sadly I doubt it will ever happen as the channel continues to get further and further away from the soap opera genre as a whole.

    I was hooked on this show from start to finish and hated to see it end.

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