Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508150093
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES ENDRST THE HARTFORD COURANT
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Could happen.
On Wednesday nights, at least. Now, that is, that the old-fogy network has gone into business with one of its young and restless competitor's biggest stars - producer Darren Star, the man who created mega-phenomena ``Beverly Hills, 90210'' and ``Melrose Place.''
This fall, Star, the 33-year-old TV superboy who studied under prime-time master Aaron Spelling, will go it alone - 3,000 miles away from his old Hollywood home - in New York with ``Central Park West.''
Mariel Hemingway (``Civil Wars''), Madchen Amick (``Twin Peaks''), supermodel Lauren Hutton and veteran actor Ron Leibman are among the headliners in Star's latest creation, a ``sophisticated, urban drama'' set in and around a New York magazine.
For CBS and Star, ``Central Park West'' involves some minor leaps of faith.
``I think it takes guts to come to New York because it's not set up,'' says Star, kicking back recently in his new downtown production digs. ``In L.A., you go to a studio. It's there. It's a no-brainer.''
There are those who would say the same about Star's prime-time characters, of course, but ``90210'' began in a high school and the cast of ``Melrose'' are twentysomethings, so perhaps that's understandable.
``Central Park West,'' however, will be different, according to Star.
``I think the characters are much sharper,'' he says. ``I think they're much smarter. They're going to have different experiences and have different perceptions of the world. ... They've lived a little. They're not jumping to those same conclusions. They've already seen those `Melrose Place' episodes.''
Naturally, the new series will not be too dramatic a departure from Star's previous work.
In the tradition of the Walsh family of ``90210,'' Hemingway will play fish-out-of-water Stephanie Wells, the newly appointed and recently transplanted editor of a Vanity Fair-type magazine called Communique. And in the style of ``Melrose,'' Wells will find herself in an instant fight with Carrie Fairchild (Amick), a determined columnist who uses sex as a weapon and whose mother, Linda Fairchild-Rush, just happens to be married to the magazine's publisher (played by Leibman) - a man determined to get Carrie off the payroll.
Carrie's solution?
To begin seducing Stephanie's husband, Mark Merrill (Tom Verica), a writer and teacher whose career has been all but destroyed by a sex scandal.
``What the three shows have in common are interesting groups of characters, and I think that's where you start from,'' says Star. ``I think this is a much more grown-up show. It's about people who are already achieving something in their lives. ... It's about ambition and the price of success.''
One character that will be center stage most of the time is New York.
``I've always had a real fascination and attraction to New York,'' says Star, who wants to take the sights and sounds of Manhattan and make them an integral part of the production. ``I think New York is a city where people come to make it.''
Hemingway, who moved her family from one coast to the other to star in ``Central Park West,'' says, ```New York is very upfront about what it is. ... It's sexy. It's dangerous. It's powerful. It's seedy. It's funny. It's crazy. And it's never boring.''
Most of all, she says, ``it's a tough city.''
Apparently, that has proved true on and off the set for many of the people involved.
Although Spelling and Star parted on good terms, their relationship has become increasingly strained.
One source describes them as ``very distant'' and says it boils down to Star biting the hand that long fed him.
At first glance, Amick's Heather Locklear-esque character would seem to be the juiciest role. But Hemingway says, ``I don't think anybody has the role. Yeah, [Madchen's character is] definitely the flashier female in a way and yet I've got so many dimensions. The truth is, my character has places to go and I always fight back and she never gets me. And she never will.''
Hemingway has no intention of doing the kind of attention-grabbing, clothes-shedding scene she did on ``Civil Wars,'' either.
``That,'' she says, ``we'll let Madchen do.''
As for Hutton, who has a short-term contract and describes her character as the ``chili pepper,'' ``Central Park West'' turned out to be a convenient intersection, a way to promote her soon-to-debut talk show.
``I needed light on my show,'' says Hutton, who has turned down roles on ``Melrose Place'' and other prime-time soaps in the past.
``If it's fun, I'll stay in. And if it's not, I won't.''
Then, pausing for a second, she wonders, ``Am I supposed to say these things?''
In a town like New York? On a set like ``Central Park West''?
Who's it going to hurt?
by CNB