Melrose Place: The Final Season - Volume 1

I was a huge fan of FOX's "Melrose Place" in the nineties. That series alone help make the FOX network what it is today. So, it wasn't surprising when the new network, The CW, decided to bring "Melrose Place" back this time with an entirely new cast as well as some old favorites the fans hadn't seen since the original.

The new "Melrose Place", unfortunately, wasn't given a chance to survive in today's television market. If the series had been back on FOX I am sure the soap wouldn have survived. Having the series air on The CW, a network that has been struggling for survival, really killed its chances of gaining an audience of any kind.

The series was extremely well-done with beautiful actors and good scripts. And the fact that it took place in the same apartment building made it a must-see TV show. I found these new inhabitants even more interesting than the old characters on the original. The two best characters were Ella (Katie Cassidy), a beautiful bisexual woman written along the same lines as Amanda, and gorgeous hunk David, played by stud Shaun Sipos, who is Michael Mancini's son caught up in a ton of trouble. The serial opened with the murder of Sydney Andrews and the question, "what tenant of "Melrose Place" killed her?".

Thankfully, all 18 episodes of this great show are available on DVD along with cast interviews in a deluxe 6 disc set.

Again, it is too bad this show never had a chance to make a name for itself in the television ratings. It took the original a few seasons before it found itself and look at what that series eventually became. However, the powers-that-be gave up on the show when Heather Locklear's much hyped return as Amanda didn't bring a rise in ratings. Thankfully, though, we have this series on DVD for posterity.

Oh, Melrose Place, how I missed you. I missed Amanda's b*tchiness. I missed Kimberly "wigging" out. I missed Michael turning from good to evil. I missed Brooke falling and hitting her head on the side of the pool. I missed Sydney sleeping with everybody.

When I heard that they were bringing back Melrose with some of the original characters, I was ELATED. It was the must-see show for me for the Fall 2009 TV season. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, being cancelled after one season. And just when I was getting to know (and love) all of the new characters. As the season went on, the plotlines got a little wackier and reminded me of Melrose Place of yesteryear. And the guest appearances by some of the former cast members of the old series made me absolutely giddy. Melrose Place was again a guilty pleasure for me.

Before the show was aired, I had read about some of the casting choices. When I heard about Ashlee Simpson being added, I thought, "UGH." After seeing her on there, though, my opinion changed completely. She was actually...good. Her character, Violet, was kind of creepy (in a good way, like Kimberly used to be), and I looked forward to seeing her in this role every week. Her tie to Sydney from the original show (who also appears in this series) intrigued me as well.

The stand-out character from the new show had to be Ella. She was b*tchy like Amanda, but with a heart. She had some of the best dialogue, and Katie Cassidy played the part to a "T."

I don't know what more there is to say about this show but R.I.P., Melrose. I'll miss you...again.

Melrose 3.0, anyone?

The star of this has to be hands down Katie Cassidy as Ella Simms. Watching her brought back many fond memories of the original Heather Locklear character Amanda. I completely agree with what one reviewer said about Ashlee Simpson, which was, heard she was on it and said UGH! but then watched it and said OOOOH. She was great as violet, the seemingly nice girl with a dark twist. It was also so great to Laura Leighton aka Sydney Andrews again; I still can't get the opening scene of the series out of my head (you will have to watch it). They really did a good job of combining the old and new characters without feeling forced. The only obvious leap was bringing back Amanda, and let me just say, Bravo to that. You knew ratings were low when they finally brought back the queen b***h, and all I have to say is they should have done that in the beginning, however the series would be called Ella vs. Amanda rather than Melrose Place. The series ended too quickly; they were just about to finish the story lines of intertwining the old and new and were ready to be their own Melrose Place.

I realize I may be blinded by my love for the original Melrose Place that I may have missed some flaws of the new series, but I thought it was a really great show. I don't know why it was canceled just after the first season, but am glad to see it finally on dvd.