Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990 TAG: 9007280438
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID ZURAWIK THE BALTIMORE SUN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Author Jackie Collins says October is going to be a very good month for male television viewers. That's because NBC is counterprogramming the World Series on CBS with six hours over three nights of the "Jackie Collins Lucky-Chances" miniseries based on her best-selling novels "Lucky" and "Chances."
During a press conference last week in Los Angeles to promote the NBC miniseries, Collins said that she understands that romantic melodrama, like "Lucky-Chances," is supposed to appeal to women, while baseball is supposed to be for men. But she said that the sex is going to be so good on "Lucky-Chances" that men will tune out baseball to watch it.
"The sex (in the miniseries) is spectacular," Collins said, "because it's erotic as opposed to rude. And you can get very erotic on television. I think there are a lot of older men who are sort of glued to the television with their can of beer watching baseball. But give any red-blooded male the choice of baseball or watching Nicollette Sheridan, and I think I know who they'll choose."
Sheridan ("Knots Landing") and Vincent Irizarry ("Santa Barbara") star as a father and daughter, Gino and Lucky Santangelo, in the mini-series, which NBC describes as "the story of a street kid who grows up to become one of America's most powerful men . . . his ambition rivaled by that of his strong-willed and beautiful daughter." NBC goes on to call "Lucky-Chances" a "sweeping story of power, passion and greed that spans 40 years." You get the idea even if you haven't read the books.
"Nicollette has some spectacular sex scenes where she's the leader," said Collins. "She leads, and that makes an enormous difference."
Collins said Mary Frann ("Newhart") also has a spectacular sex scene. Frann plays the "sophisticated wife of an important senator who teaches young Gino the finer points of making love," to use the words of NBC.
"Mary Frann has this scene with Gino where they are in bed and she's feeding him strawberries," Collins said. "She is dipping each in chocolate and the chocolate is dripping on his chest, and . . . erotic, very erotic. But not rude."
When asked if the network tried to tone down the sex, Collins said, "No, I've always managed to fend for myself when it comes to how far I can go."
Collins said that "Lucky-Chances" is more than sex. "Sex alone doesn't sell," she said, "believe me." Collins said the miniseries has a rich look to it that will remind viewers of "Rich Man, Poor Man." And she did say some things about distinctive visual style and artistry of direction.
But she was mainly selling chocolate sauce and Nicollette Sheridan as an alternative to prime-time baseball.
by CNB