Generations (U.S. TV series)

Last updated
Generations
Generations TV series logo.jpg
Genre Soap opera
Created by Sally Sussman Morina
Starring Lynn Hamilton
Joan Pringle
Vivica A. Fox
Kristoff St. John
Richard Roundtree
Kelly Rutherford
Robert Torti
Taurean Blacque
Patricia Crowley
James Reynolds
Dorothy Lyman
Bruce Gray
Anthony Addabbo
Jonelle Allen
Rick Fitts
Elinor Donahue
Marla Adams
Joseph Whipp
George Shannon
Robert Gentry
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes470
Production
Running time2224 minutes
Production company(s)Old Forest Hill Productions
NBC Productions
Distributor NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network NBC
Original releaseMarch 27, 1989 (1989-03-27) 
January 25, 1991 (1991-01-25)

Generations is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from March 27, 1989, to January 25, 1991. The show was groundbreaking in that it was the first soap opera to feature from its inception an African-American family.

A soap opera is an ongoing drama serial on television or radio, featuring the lives of many characters and their emotional relationships. The term soap opera originated from radio dramas being sponsored by soap manufacturers.

NBC American television and radio network

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial terrestrial television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, with additional major offices near Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. The network is one of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting. It became the network's official emblem in 1979.

Contents

Premise

This half-hour serial was promoted as television's first fully integrated daytime soap. It focused on the relationship between two Chicago families: the Whitmores and the Marshalls. Their association began several decades ago when Vivian Potter was housekeeper and nanny for Rebecca Whitmore and her three children: Laura (Gail Ramsey), Stephanie (nicknamed Sam) (Kelly Rutherford), and J.D. Vivian's young daughter, Ruth (Joan Pringle) lived with her in the Whitmore mansion.

Chicago City in Illinois, United States

Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States.

Kelly Rutherford American actress

Kelly Rutherford is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera Generations (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera Melrose Place (1996–1999), and as Lily van der Woodsen on The CW series Gossip Girl (2007–2012).

Joan Pringle is an American former actress. Pringle is perhaps known for her roles on General Hospital (1963), The White Shadow (1978), and Original Sin (2001). One of Pringle's best known roles was portraying vice principal Sybil Buchanan in the TV series The White Shadow. During the third and final season her character was promoted to principal.

When Ruth grew up, she married Henry Marshall (Taurean Blacque, James Reynolds), who owned and operated five moderately successful ice cream parlors. With Ruth's urging, Henry enlisted the help of business mogul Martin Jackson (Rick Fitts), who marketed Marshall's ice cream nationwide. The move proved so successful that Ruth was able to buy the Whitmore mansion. Ruth and Henry had three children, Chantal (Sharon Brown, Debbi Morgan), a lawyer, Jacquelyn Marshall Rhymes, a homemaker and mother, and Adam (Kristoff St. John), a junior executive with the Hale Hotel chain. Living with the Marshalls was Ruth's mother, Vivian (Lynn Hamilton).

James Reynolds (actor) American dramatic television actor

James Reynolds is an American dramatic actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Abe Carver on Days of Our Lives, for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2018.

Rick Fitts is an American television and film actor.

Debbi Morgan actress

Deborah Ann Morgan is an American film and television actress. She played the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children for which she was the first African-American to win the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1989. She is also known for her roles as the Seer in the fourth and fifth seasons of Charmed. In film, she received critical acclaim for her performance as Mozelle Batiste-Delacroix in Eve's Bayou (1997).

Like Ruth Marshall, Rebecca Whitmore (Pat Crowley; Dorothy Lyman) also had a challenging past to overcome. Unknown to Rebecca, her ex-husband Peter (Ron Harper) stole her inheritance, and abandoned her. Determined to move forward with her life, a middle-aged Rebecca enrolled in law school and succeeded in becoming one of the nation's leading attorneys. When the serial premiered, her daughter Laura was married to advertising executive Trevor McCallum. Realizing that Trevor was cheating on her, Laura ended the marriage. They had an adult daughter, Monique (Nancy Sorrell).

Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most commonly known for her work as Gwen Frame in Another World and in All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner, as Rebecca Whitmore in Generations, and on the sitcom Mama's Family as Naomi Harper.

Ron Harper (actor) American actor

Ronald Robert Harper is an American television and film actor. He resides in California and continues to act.

Nancy Sorrell is an English model, actress and television presenter from Chigwell.

Although Rebecca was saddened by the break-up of her oldest daughter's marriage, she was happy to see her granddaughter, Monique, marry photographer Jason Craig. Soon after their marriage, Jason inherited a multimillion dollar fortune, making him a murder target. Rebecca's youngest daughter and Monique's aunt, Stephanie; nicknamed Sam (Kelly Rutherford), accepted a position as model and spokesperson for the upscale Hale Hotel chain. Sam was a seductive, slightly promiscuous young woman initially, and was having an affair with one of her college professors, Rob Donnelly (George Deloy). As time went on however, Sam matured into a warmer, more responsible person and became one of the show's most popular characters. Sam's boss, the dastardly Jordan Hale, expressed an interest in Sam that went beyond business. Police detective Kyle Masters (Robert Torti) was also wildly attracted to Sam.

Robert Torti American actor

Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.

Doreen Jackson (Jonelle Allen), a recovering drug addict, was married to Martin Jackson. Following a brief fling with Adam Marshall, Doreen found herself pregnant. Before their daughter, Danielle, was born, the relationship died. When he discovered the affair, a vengeful Martin tried to destroy Adam's life, but Doreen gathered damning evidence against Martin and his numerous ruthless business dealings over the years and threatened to expose him if he ever tried to harm Adam again. She would eventually use that information to help Henry and Ruth drive Martin out of the country when he tried to take over Marshall's Ice Cream. Martin kidnapped Danielle, attempting to flee with her, but Adam and Sam stopped him and he was forced to leave without her to save himself. Doreen next took up with her doctor, Daniel Reubens (Richard Roundtree). He resurfaced in Chicago in 1990 with his daughter, Maya Davis - alias Diana Reubens (Vivica A. Fox)- after falsely being accused of killing his wife.

Jonelle Allen is an American actress, singer, and dancer.

Richard Roundtree American actor

Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former model. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973), along with a cameo appearance as the character in the 2000 film Shaft, which starred Samuel L. Jackson as the nephew of the original John Shaft. For his performance in Shaft, Roundtree was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972.

Vivica A. Fox American actress, producer

Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress, producer and television host. Fox began her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas Days of Our Lives (1988) and Generations (1989–91), subsequently shifting to the prime-time slot starring opposite Patti LaBelle, in the NBC sitcom Out All Night (1992–93). Fox's breakthrough came in 1996, with roles in two box-office hit films, Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and F. Gary Gray's Set It Off.

Original cast

Production

Sally Sussman Morina served as creator and executive producer. Directors included Casey Childs, Michael Eilbaum, and Maria Wagner. The series was written by Sally Sussman Morina and Michelle Val Jean.

Ratings

Awards

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