On 'Melrose Place,' Heather Locklear rises again
Photo credit: The CW Network/Patrick Wymore | Heather Locklear reprises her role as Amanda in "Melrose Place" on The CW.
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Melrose Place
THE SHOW "Melrose Place"
WHEN | WHERE Tuesday night at 9 on CW/11
REASON TO WATCH The B is back.
CATCHING UP Last we saw of Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear), she and new husband Dr. Peter Burns (Jack Wagner) were planning their future on a remote tropical isle - after staging their own fiery deaths. So ended the original "Melrose Place" - one of the genuine tube addictions of the 1990s.
WHAT TONIGHT'S ABOUT Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy) and her semi-diabolical, equally self-absorbed boss, Caleb (Victor Webster), are sitting in his office, hatching some scheme. Who should come clicking through the door on a pair of stilettos that could be registered as lethal weapons? You know who. Both are surprised.
Even though they know she's alive, they didn't expect Amanda from the New York office for a couple of weeks. She gets set to fire half the staff, including Caleb and maybe Ella - a sort of Mini-Me to Amanda's Dr. Evil. No full episode was available, but you - the viewer - will eventually find out how she got off that island, and maybe even how she beat a murder rap. But Amanda still has a lot of s'plainin' to do, mostly to Dr. Mancini (Thomas Calabro), who helped stage her death.
MY TAKE Anybody of a certain age - let's say anyone under ten - might be surprised to learn that Locklear was once a huge star. During the 1980s, she simultaneously starred in two major series ("T.J. Hooker," "Dynasty").
Without Locklear, "Melrose" would never, could never have been. Her secret ingredient was a perfect blend of treachery and truculence, sweet and sour. Before she went AWOL this decade, Locklear was a highly competent actress, but can she save "Melrose" again?
BOTTOM LINE I like "Melrose 2.0," but it needs a spark. Watch for old times' sake, and a possible turnaround.
