Hope all my readers had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Moose and I are moving yet again and craziness rules. However, I made sure that Santa knew I was still here because I badly wanted one present: a nifty new book called “Passions: Sins, Spells Secrets. The Unauthorized Story of the Cult-Favorite Soap Opera” by J.T. Cornell. I just loved the very over the top “Passions” which ran on NBC from 1999 until 2008.
Author Cornell is eager for readers to know that his insider report never passed through the hands of a network publicist. “What you’re holding,” he promises, “is strictly unauthorized: part commentary, part cultural autopsy, part love letter scribbled in lipstick on the bathroom mirror.” He ought to know, he proffers, because as an actor he played a role on the show, albeit briefly, as a character who met his demise when he was baked into Chad and Whitney’s wedding cake.
Such were the wacky goings on in the town of Harmony. Cornell’s book is chock-a-block with such incidents and the stories behind them, as only those who were there at the creation could tell them. Cornell brings them to life with the help of interviews by journalist Laila Muhammad. The result is a very good read that is sure to please every serious fan of “Passions.”
I wrote tons on this show for Soap Opera Weekly because it was just so creative and at times wildly entertaining. It was the story of life in a New England town called home by a witch named Tabitha Lennox (Juliet Mills) and her ward Timmy, a doll she brought to life, played by the 3’2” inch actor, the late Josh Ryan Evans. He is my all-time favorite soap actor.Josh was a lovable and precocious actor, only 19 years old at the time. The audience adored him. Many said that Timmy was the alter ego of the late James E. Reilly, the genius who created and wrote this show. In one fantasy sequence Timmy played a doctor. In real life, Jim went to med school before he became a soap opera writer
My readers already know that over the years I was blessed to be friends with Jim. In addition to “Passions,” he worked on eight other soaps until his unexpected death at 60 in 2008.Jim was so smart and so well read–you never knew what wild, funny storyline he would come up with next. There were a lot of nominally normal characters in Harmony, like the members of the Crane, Russell, Bennett, and Lopez-Fitgerald families. But there were also other out-there personages, including Rasputin and even an orangutan named Precious.
Cornell’s book is an evocative page-turner. He’s adept at explaining “Passions”’ originality and endearing idiosyncrasy. Like me, he loved “Passions” and that shows up in every chapter. This is from the introduction: “Think you know soaps? Think again. ‘Passions’ didn’t just bend the rules, it snapped them in half and threw them into a volcano.” The show actually ended with an eruption of Mount Harmony,its spewing lava destroying the town.
Most notably, Cornell understands the perilous soap times that gave birth to the show. By the time “Passions” debuted in 1999, the soap opera medium had barely survived the constant pre-emptionsfor coverage of the O,J. Simpson trial of 1994 and 1995. Cable TV was debuting. Something new and eye-catching was desperately needed to keep the soap audience’s loyalty. At that time, soaps generated so much profits they financed network primetime programming. That practice was ending as soaps declined in viewership, and daytime was in big trouble. So, NBC Daytime wisely allowed Reilly to really go for it with “Passions.”
He insisted on complete creative control. In Reilly’s telling, heroine Sheraton Crane (Mckenzie Westmore)who had a top-lining romance with Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald (Galen Gering) was friends with Princess Diana, a story that royally pissed off Buckingham Palance. The Teresa/Ethan/Gwen love triangle with Lindsay Hartley/Travis Shuldt (later Eric Marstolf), and Gwen (Liza Huber, later Natalie Zea) were front burning. Town rich guy Julian Crane was very powerful, and the character was made popular by the talents of the late Ben Masters, who was delightful at infusing the character with his comic inflections.
And more! Simone Russell (Chrystee Pharris) came out as gay and “Passions” was the first soap to show two women in bed together. Longtime hero Chad Harris-Crane (Don Swabby) cheated on his wife with another man, and they were also shown in bed. The nuttiest character of all was Vincent (Philip Jeanmarie), an intersex person who became pregnant with his own father’s son. Vincent’s female identity was Valerie Davis, played by Daphnee Duplaix who is now Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson on “Beyond the Gates.”
The head spins when remembering all this. But the most memorable thing about “Passions” was its well-researched inventiveness. I loved watching Tabitha relive the infamous Salem Witch trials of 1692 and 1693. Reilly brought this same relish of history to “Days of Our Lives,” which he also wrote for. Remember John Black (the late Drake Hogestyn) being led to the guillotine in “Days” fantasy French Revolution storyline? That cracked me up!
“Passions” did finally burn out in 2008 after it had gone from NBC TV to Direct TV for a year. I’d like to note here that it was the last new soap be created before the debut of “Beyond the Gates” earlier this year. That’s a long gap.
Author Cornell closes this love letter of a book with a quote from a fan named Angela Thomas who wrote for the New York Times at the show’s cancellation: “Passions was wild, funny, and fearless. It was one of those shows that did what no one else would even dare to try.”
“Passions: Sins, Spells and Secrets” is published by BWE Media Networks.
This is ridiculous! Shame on you, Marlena! You didn’t bother to mention the obvious- the entire show rode on the coattails and ripped off the ORIGINAL ‘cult favorite soap opera’ “Dark Shadows”! DS led to three feature films, a primetime reboot, original novels, soundtrack albums, a top 20 hit song, and decades of fandom unseen for any other soap. What daytime soap has been released in its entirety on VHS and Blu-ray and has been on numerous streaming services? Certainly not “Passions”! Have there been any fan conventions based on “Passions”? No- but there have been a lot of DS fan events and conventions since the mid-70s. 2026 is the 60th anniversary of the show and there will be an event in California.
Now, Marlena, as much as I have liked your articles, you have more or less overlooked the uniqueness of “Dark Shadows” and a tribute is long overdue! And for Angela Thomas’ quote- obviously she never watched “Dark Shadows” because her words are FAR more fitting for DS- without “Dark Shadows” there would have NEVER been a “Passions”. So now I eagerly away your response…..
I absolutely loved “Dark Shadows’ when it was on. Watched it as a teenager. Later when I got older, I lived around the corner from Jonathan Frid when in Gramercy Park and was I thrilled to see him upclose on the street
I agree with you–“Dark Shadows” was a phenomenon (and I just remembered I visited the castle in Westchester County where DS did location shoots.) A dear friend of mine even named her cat Selby after David.
Both shows broke all the rules. But “Passions” was merely a daytime soap which didn’t last very long. Charles, let’s be friends anc celebrate both of them and the creativity behind them!
Okay- truce!
Happy New Year Charles!
Connie, you may not like this but I dispute that Reilly needed a precursor gothic/fantasized soap before he would’ve created this one. And I am in no way taking anything away from the actors or Dan Curtis who was a genius or Sam Hall or Gabriel Union. Plus I know that NBC would not have needed a precursor either.
And I even believe that some stood on the shoulders of those who went before.
Soap history is so cool isn’t it? All these years later we are still remembering ourshows and arguing about them!
Marlena, I appreciate this post a lot. I had no idea the book was out yet, and I am excited to read it. Passions meant a lot to me, as its what got me into soaps to begin with. Hell in Charity’s closet and the Prom Boat disaster were the talk at school for us young ones that got hooked on it back during that time.
Dark Shadows is iconic and I love it too, but this does not need to be a takedown of Passions to prove Dark Shadows matters. More than one cult soap can exist. The hate Passions gets from some of the soap audience can border on unhinged, and to shame you or call you ridiculous Connie is unnecessary and I’m sorry for that. Passions knew what it was and those it was meant for adored it.
I follow a Passions fan page on Facebook and there have been fan events in recent years and there is an upcoming documentary about the show in the works. Thank you again for highlighting the book.
Thanks Emma for this nice letter. You’ve told both myself and my readers things I didn’t know–like that there is a Passions fan page and that there is a documentary in the works. And it’s so interesting that after all these years the show is still controversial. As I’ve written here it’s possible to be both a fan of “Passions” and also of “Dark Shadows.” I loved both. The book is a labor of love both for the author and for all of us fans!
I love seeing this show get its flowers, because Passions has always been treated like the stepchild of soaps. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and it took big risks, but I think that’s exactly why people still talk about it. And to the folks barking about Dark Shadows, relax. I loved Dark Shadows too, and I have seen every episode maybe twice over. But if we are going to talk about a show “riding coattails,” let’s be real, Dark Shadows pulled from the classics all the time ala Frankenstein, Wolfman, Dracula, you name it. That never made Dark Shadows less loved, and it does not make Passions less loved either. Borrowing and remixing is part of the whole genre.
Thanks for this great letter Katrina. In all genres everybody borrows from one another. But daytime soaps do it the best!
I had a cat once named Ariel after a minor Shakespearean witch’s familiar. She was a best friend for almost 19 years & she had a mad crush on Lauren Bacall, she loved her voice. Two other cats similarly named were Hecuba & Gray Malkin. My favorite gothic soap is the 1990s primetime reboot of DS with Ben Cross, Joanna Goings (Lisa, AW) & Ellen Wheeler acting (AW Marley/Vicky) & (AMC Cindy & ??) But that is in partial fulfillment of obscure being my middle name!!
I didn’t know there was a reboot of “Dark Shadows.” Interesting because I was in the industry all through the 1990’s.
Just Watch shows 13 episodes on Amazon Prime video.
https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/dark-shadows-1991
Have fun storming the castle!