Series / Melrose Place

Melrose Place is a Prime Time Soap which ran on Fox from 1992 to 1999, originally made as an ensemble drama spun off from Beverly Hills, 90210. Created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling, the series focused on a set of attractive twentysomethings living in an apartment complex. Its initial ratings were tepid, but as its storylines became more sensational and over-the-top, it found a dedicated audience.

The original cast included Courtney Thorne-Smith, Andrew Shue, Grant Show, Josie Bissett, and Doug Savant, the lattermost of which played Matt Fielding, one of the first openly gay regular characters on primetime television. Marcia Cross later joined the cast, and Heather Locklear was brought in as a guest star. Locklear quickly became the main character, but was billed as a "Special Guest Star" for the rest of the series' run. Via her character, the series (itself a spin-off) got its own spin-off in the form of Models Inc.

Melrose Place has a legacy of being perhaps the quintessential Guilty Pleasure show, to the point that it was portrayed as such in a Seinfeld episode that saw Jerry repeatedly denying he watched it, until his policewoman girlfriend made him take a polygraph exam, under which he snapped and admitted his addiction.

A Revival series was launched on The CW in 2009, following in the footsteps of the 90210 revival, but ratings were extremely poor (even by CW standards) and the show was cancelled after a season.

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This series provides examples of:

• Abandon the Disabled: Attempted by Sydney towards Jane in season four. Sick of being her caretaker when she was paralyzed from a stroke, she first tries to place her in a crooked nursing home, then at one point left her on the beach at high tide. Thankfully, she not only survived but was able-bodied within a few episodes.
• Alliterative Name: Michael Mancini and his fourth wife as well, Megan (Lewis) Mancini.
• All Women Are Lustful: It seems like most women on the Melrose Place block seemed to really enjoy sex. But then again, the men aren't so innocent in this regard either.
• Anyone Can Die: This trope turns up in full force during season finales.
• Ascended Extra: Sydney, Kimberly, and Samantha were introduced as bit characters before growing significantly in prominence.
• Asshole Victim: Several:
  • Jess Hanson, Jake's abusive, unemoting half-brother.
  • Hayley Armstrong, the slimy, meddling billionaire father of Brooke, and, eventually, Brooke herself becomes one.
  • Kent DeMarr, the two-timing Jerkass boyfriend of Amanda and Eve in their high school days.
  • Rory Blake, Amanda's one-time ex-con husband who she ended up with in season 7.
  • Dr. Paul Graham, Matt's bisexual boyfriend who murdered his wife and framed him for it.
  • Vic, the crazed fan who ended up stalking and later assaulting Kimberly.
  • Reed, Jo's sleazy ex-classmate who she slept with (and became pregnant by) after his death who she killed to escape his abuse.
  • And of course, Jack Parezi, Amanda's rich, perverted and violent ex-husband.
• Back for the Dead: Sydney (who was run over by a car in the original series and believed to be dead) was brought back in the sequel series for the sole purpose of being killed off again. Her death (drowned in the complex's swimming pool) motivates the plot of the first season.
• Back from the Dead: Kimberly in season two of the original show. After being critically injured in an alcohol-related car crash with Michael, who was the driver, it is discovered that she died from her injuries. Sydney, knowing that he was drunk and that he forced Matt to fake the B.A.C. results, blackmails him into an unhappy marriage. However, just as he is beginning to love Sydney, Kimberly reappears hell-bent on revenge. It was learned that Kimberly's "death" was all a ploy by her mother to get Michael out of her daughter's life.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: Craig's. His father was a rich, Manipulative Bastard who had been involved in the death of his own father and then Craig ended up letting him die after he suffered a heart attack.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Taylor.
• Blackmail: Oh so much. In particular, this seems to be a favored M.O. of Michael and Sydney's.
• Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: Sydney.
• Breakout Character: Amanda Woodward, who essentially saved the show from being cancelled.
• Broken Ace: Billy.
• Bus Crash: Apparently, this is what happened to Matt, who perished in a car accident in season seven, although many fans take into consideration that due to its randomness and the secrets that were divulged only afterwards that it could all be just fake.
• But Not Too Gay: The token gay character Matt Fielding wasn't allowed to kiss on screen.
• Cain and Abel:
  • Jess and Jake, respectively. Jess arranged for Jake to get shot and wounded in a robbery to take over Shooters and then beats Jo into unconsciousness when she turns down his marriage proposal. This leads to the season 3 finale where they have a fight at a high-rise construction site, causing both brothers to fall over the edge. Jake survives, but Jess does not.
  • Sydney and Jane fall into this too, with Sydney attempting to steal Jane's fiancee, poisoning her, causing her to have a stroke, abusing her when she's supposed to be helping her recuperate, etc.
• Catfight: Several of both the physical and verbal kind, including a very memorable one between Jane and Sydney in the complex pool.
• Christmas Episode: One for every season: A Melrose Place Christmas, Under The Mistletoe, Holiday On Ice, Oy! To The World, Crazy Love (sort of), A Tree Talks In Melrose, and The Usual Santas.
• Citizenship Marriage: In season 2, Matt marries a Russian woman, Katya, so she can stay in the United States with her young daughter. However, she later returns to Russia to be with her family.
• Cliffhanger: They have had nine: Till Death Do Us Part, They Shoot Mothers, Don't They?, The Big Bang Theory, No Lifeguard on Duty, Dead Sisters Walking, Great Sexpectations, Who's Afraid of Amanda Woodward?, Last Train to Baghdad, and Buona Sera, Mr. Campbell.
• Con Woman: Brittany Maddocks, played by Kathy Ireland on four episodes in 1994 (Season 3).
• Convenient Coma: Kimberly ended up in this towards the end of season four, after the riot at the mental institution and falling over a high railing.
• Convenient Miscarriage / Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Played straight and averted, respectively. Almost none of the pregnancies on Melrose Place was carried to term (and in the rare instance it was, either the baby or the character did not last on the show long after that) and both Sandy and Alison ended their pregnancies.
• Contrived Coincidence: Kyle and Taylor just happen to move to the same apartment complex where the brother (Michael) of Kyle's ex-mistress (Jennifer) lives, in one of the biggest cities in the country.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: There have been a couple of instances, but the coup de grace had to go to "Christine"^note An impostor hired by Kyle's slimy best friend Nick to portray a former love of Kyle's who died fighting in the Gulf War in order to derail his and Amanda's relationship who after knocking her head on the hood of a car was then placed on the railroad tracks by Nick and Taylor and ran over by a train in an attempt to make it look like she killed herself over losing Kyle to Amanda. Even worse, the Fox censors actually allowed the "squishing" noise of her being run over to be heard.
• Death by Falling Over: Happens to Brooke, who fell over while drunk and drowns, just like her father did.
• Death Is Cheap: Various.
  • Kimberly was placed in a coma after a car crash with Michael, Put on a Bus to Ohio for recovery, and her mother returned to inform the staff at Wilshire Memorial of her "death". Flashforward fourteen episodes later, Kimberly is revealed to be alive and (seemingly) well, becoming the character that most fans came to know. She later died of a brain tumor three seasons later.
  • At the end of season 4, Richard is seemingly killed by Sydney when he attempted to strangle Jane. The sisters bury his body at the side of the road, and when they flee the scene, Richard's hand pops out of the ground. Sure enough, he returns for the first three episodes of the following season to seek revenge against them, only to get Killed Off for Real.
  • Sydney's death in season 5 was later retconned, in which Michael helped her fake her death. She later returned, spent several years in jail for faking her death, and was her death at the start of the reboot inspired the mystery of the show's only season.
• Depraved Bisexual: Matt's one-time boyfriend, Paul, who ended up killing his wife and framing Matt for the murder.
• Destination Defenestration:
  • How Bobby Parezi is accidentally killed by his lawyer Alycia Barnett.
  • After confronting him about his and Taylor's months of manipulation of him, Peter throws Michael through a glass window in their office, badly injuring his hands.
• Deus Angst Machina: Alison, dear God. She and her sister were victims of molestation at the hands of her father, her mother knew about it yet turned a blind eye to it all and blamed the girls for it and told them she wished she never gave birth to either of them. Her ex-boyfriend becomes obsessed with her and ends up committing suicide while she helplessly listens on the phone. She becomes an alcoholic and runs down a young man on his bike, injuring him and sending her to rehab. She is forced to call off her fairytale wedding to her one true love, Billy, because the issues within her past, all of this happening sometime after he impregnates one of her rivals (who is also her boss, Amanda, who alternates between befriending her and bullying her) and before he abandons her and eventually marries another (who is also her coworker/stepdaughter, Brooke, who's a selfish, manipulative rich bitch). She ends up being temporarily blinded when Kimberly blew up the complex (and she was not even any of the intended targets). She is manipulated into marrying her aforementioned rival's billionaire father, who secretly and unceremoniously divorces her and cuts her out of his will a short time later right before his mysterious drowning death, which the stepdaughter/rival blames her for. She becomes pregnant by and marries longtime friend-turned-love interest, Jake, but is forced to terminate the pregnancy due to medical reasons and splits with him. And after being forced to leave L.A., she eventually ends up in rehab for alcoholism, which she struggled with throughout the series and was directly caused by her traumatic childhood. If there is one soap opera character in need of a hug, it's definitely her.
• Disney Villain Death: Jess Hanson. Downplayed with Jack Parezi, who falls over a balcony, which he survives. However, he does die at the hospital after attempting to attack Amanda.
• Dogged Nice Guy: Billy, originally.
• Dresses the Same: In the first half of the "No Lifeguard on Duty" two-parter, Sydney ends up renting the same high-end designer dress that Amanda buys in order to seduce Bobby away from her at a function. She ultimately ends up getting wine "accidentally" spilled on her for her troubles, ruining the dress.
• Driven to Suicide: Poor, poor Bruce Teller, the original boss of D&D Advertising, in season three. Also, Craig Field does this towards the end of season six, and Alison's ex, Keith Gray, in season two,
• Dr. Jerk: Michael from the end of season one on and Peter's initial character while also going back and forth between being a humanly decent and dedicated M.D. and this.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Matt, who dies in a car accident offscreen in season 7.
• Drunk Driver:
  • Michael was a rather infamous one to the point of getting himself and Kimberly into a bad accident that left him temporarily paralyzed and her clinging to life. Unfortunately for him, Sydney found out about his BAC and things went downhill from there.
  • Alison as well was a routine drunk driver until she accidentally hit a young man on his bike, injuring him.
• Dull Surprise: Happened on occasion, but mainly with Billy, Craig and Jess Hanson.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: In season 1, the Melrose Place apartment tenants were a lot closer than in later seasons. Additionally, Alison and Billy were more-or-less the main characters (since their Will They or Won't They? storyline seemed to be the one that dominated the season) while Michael had a kinder personality and was faithful to his wife, a 360 degree turn from his later personality and Jane was stated to be an only child (some episodes prior to Sydney's first appearance). It wasn't until Amanda came around 21 episodes into the season when Melrose Place became the show that most people know and love.
• Easter Egg: A series of highly unusual ones that Aaron Spelling and the producers did not even know about. The GALA Committee, essentially a subversive, left-wing Los Angeles art community, infiltrated the set of Melrose Place and began putting subversive works of art on the show. So, when Alison is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, she is also sometimes seen under a blanket that shows the chemical structure of the RU-486 abortion pill. Peter Burns's bedspread has a pattern of unwrapped condoms. A boyfriend of Sydney's uses a pillow as Hand-or-Object Underwear when he is trapped outside; the logo on the pillow is a drawing of the AIDS virus. A mock advertising poster for alcohol is actually a picture of the Oklahoma City federal building bombed by Timothy McVeigh. This went on for two years, 1995-97, until Aaron Spelling finally found out. See the GALA Committee website here, and other stories about the project here and here.
• Even Evil Has Standards: While he was the resident Dr. Jerk (and not necessarily "evil" but rather slimy and womanizing), Michael also acted respectable at times, such as helping Peter in protecting Amanda after learning that her abusive ex-husband, Jack, was coming after her, as well as discovering old photos of a battered Amanda she had taken as evidence and giving Jo's baby back to her after realizing that Kimberly stole him. Plus, he helped usurp a homophobic doctor from chief of staff at Wilshire, after he got Matt fired for being gay under the guise of his involvement in a murder at the time (which Matt actually didn't do).
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Subverted: Jack and Bobby Parezi's father. Vincent, is just as evil as his younger son (he is a mobster, after all), but he genuinely loves Jack, was heartbroken over his death and even sent Bobby to kill Amanda, although he was in love with her. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of any love he had for his older son, in spite of his loyalty and Jack hating his father's guts and waiting for him to die.
• Everybody Has Lots of Sex: Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
• Face–Heel Turn:
  • Michael was a particularly sensible, responsible, and faithful husband to Jane at the start of the show. By the end of season one, he was engaged in an affair with Kimberly, and was on the verge of divorcing Jane. In season two, he became the Smug Snake that everyone knew and loved.
  • In Amanda's case, she was friendlier in her introduction. However, this is a Subverted Trope, as the audience didn't know Amanda enough to make any assumptions of her character.
  • Richard Hart's face-heel turn in the middle of season four was rather sudden and unsuspected, as he was beforehand a fairly likable character.
• Fake Guest Star:
  • Famously, Heather Locklear. She was on the show longer than most of the original cast, yet never lost her Guest Starring billing. Hell, the only episodes she missed were the first 20 episodes of the show before she was introduced. She received this billing because the "stars" were listed in alphabetical order, so in order for her to receive an And Starring billing they had to pretend she was a "special guest star" and wasn't part of the main cast (as she would otherwise appear somewhere in the middle).
  • Additionally, this occurred with four other actors: Laura Leighton in season 2, Marcia Cross in season 3, Patrick Muldoon in season 4, and Rena Sofer in season 7; they all appear in most of the episodes of their respective seasons, though later Leighton and Cross were upgraded to series regulars.
• Fallen-on-Hard-Times Job: While her regular "jobs" as a prostitute and one-time madam weren't any better, Sydney had to take a job as a stripper named "Jungle Jane" in a gentleman's club after being kicked out of Lauren's brothel. It only gets worse when Michael discovers her working there.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: Several examples, from Jo being beaten by Jake's brother Jess, to Jane's rape to Peter getting beaten up while in prison.
• Fiery Redhead: Aplenty. Sydney, Kimberly and Lexie.
  • One could also argue for/include Coop into that category as well.
• Flatline: Jack Parezi, who was brought back via a Magical Defibrillator. When it happened again, however, when he was trying to kill Amanda, he flatlined for good.
• Flawless Token: Matt, the most altruistic character, is gay.
• Food Slap: The drink variety is done at least three times: Sydney throws her martini in the face of her pimp, Lauren, after she called her trash, Amanda "accidentally" spills red wine on Syd's expensive, duplicate dress after the latter tried to seduce Bobby Parezi away from her and Amanda again splashes wine in Taylor's face after she successfully blocked a slap she was about to receive from her.
• Freudian Excuse: Amanda's behavior can be traced back to her troubled childhood, which included an absent mother and a distant father who preferred to buy her off instead of spending time with her.
• The Friends Who Never Hang: Okay, calling them friends is really pushing it, but several characters rarely or never interacted with one another. Michael and Alison rarely shared any screen time together and she was one of the few primary female characters that he didn't bang. He also almost never had much to do with Jo, except for the storyline with her baby. More telling was Kimberly, whose male interactions with the men of Melrose rarely went beyond Michael or Peter. Even in the beginning of season six, it becomes obvious that Coop had feelings for her (and a past relationship with her as we would later find out), but by then he is seen putting flowers on her grave.
• Genre Shift: The series began life as a light drama similar in tone to its parent series, Beverly Hills, 90210. The change to Prime Time Soap was sudden and early, being mostly complete by the end of the first season, with the characters least suited to heavier plots being jettisoned entirely or retooled to suit the needs of the show's new format, along with the addition of a potent agent of drama in Amanda. (As the characters aged out of high school, 90210 itself simply evolved into the light drama about young adults this show was originally supposed to be.)
• Get Out!: What Jo said to Jess after he hit her after she rejected his marriage proposal. Unfortunately, he didn't listen.
• Grave-Marking Scene: Coop, whose first appearance has him placing flowers on the grave of his old love Kimberly.
• Hereditary Wedding Dress: Both Jane and Sydney wore their grandmother's wedding dress on their wedding day to Jane's husband Michael. When the former caught the latter in the dress, it resulted in a fight that culminated in both of them falling into the apartment complex's pool.
• Hollywood Heart Attack:
  • Subverted with Amanda towards the end of season five. It later turned out to be a panic attack.
  • Nearly averted when Matt's father, Matt, Sr., who is seen profusely sweating and sitting in front of a fan as he gradually has more difficulty talking, but it's then played straight when he grabs his chest and immediately passes out. He dies in a hospital soon after.
  • Played straight with Arthur Field, Craig's father, in a fight the two men were having as the former freezes, clutches his chest and slinks down to the ground and dies seconds later after the latter prevented Amanda from calling for help.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Sydney briefly became a hooker in season 2, though later left because she felt degraded by it. Later, Megan, "given" to Michael as a present by his wife Kimberly first when her illness dulls her libido and ends their sex life, then made official when she passes away for good.
• Hospital Hottie: Kimberly, Michael, Peter, and Coop were pretty hot for doctors.
• Hospital Visit Hesitation: When Michael and Kimberly are in a car accident, while an upset Sydney tells Jane about it, only for her to both rebuff wanting to visit him since they just had a bitter divorce and for a critically injured Michael to order Sydney to leave, she does visit him and a comatose Kimberly, only to see the engagement ring on her hand.
• Hotter and Sexier: As the show went on, the storylines became more steamy and the clothing became more revealing. In the E! True Hollywood Story of Melrose Place, Lisa Rinna admitted how she ended up showing more and more skin, even in her bedclothes.
• Humiliation Conga / Trauma Conga Line: This happened to Brooke in season four. After her father's untimely death, his assets are frozen, leaving her penniless. She feigns a pregnancy to hold onto Billy, who, upon learning this instead of having a miscarriage, leaves her. She attempts suicide to try and get him back, which fails as he then throws her out. She ends up living in a hotel, which she cannot pay for due to her card being declined and is also kicked out of. She gets fired, tried to seduce her former fiance (whom she cheated on with Billy), who then humiliates her and confesses he only liked her for her father's money. Then she is left alone and dies by hitting her head in the complex pool while drunk and drowning.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Can you believe that beloved characters Kimberly, Sydney, and Peter didn't arrive to Melrose Place until the latter half of season one, season two and season three, respectively?
• Informed Ability: Jo in season one was said to be a streetwise New Yorker who had a good head on her shoulders. Yet the series portrays her in her storylines as being very impulsive, vulnerable and at times even gullible.
• Interrupted Suicide: Michael inadvertently stops Taylor from committing suicide after discovering she was pregnant with his child and, in usual Taylor-style, she initially lied and said Peter was the father, who did not believe her and didn't want anything to do with her or the baby.
• Intimate Haircut: Amanda gives Bobby Parezi one in season four after they make love. Although it was on the account that as a partner/executive at D&D Advertising he needed a shorter, more conservative hairdo, the implications are still there and it looked much better cut.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Michael, while mostly a Dr. Jerk and Smug Snake, can prove himself to be caring on very rare occasions. One prominent example is when he ousts a homophobic chief of staff at the hospital who had gotten Matt fired.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk:
  • Jack Parezi. He is a controlling, abusive and manipulative person who tormented Amanda during their marriage. Even on his deathbed, after she decided not to pull the plug on him while he laid in a coma, he then woke up, apologized to her and after he lured her into a hug, tried to strangle her before he succumbed to his injuries.
  • Kimberly's mother hated Michael to the point of fooling him into thinking that she succumbed to the injuries in the aforementioned car accident. Years later, she is still trying to get her away from him when she dies of her brain tumor and then seeks comfort in his arms as she then takes her body back to Ohio for burial. You think then she would let bygones be bygones? Not a chance; she was still so angry at him that she tried to stab him over a year later while he was in surgery, only to hurt Megan instead.
  • Tony Marlin. He insisted that Amanda finance a million dollar commercial on her own, essentially bankrupting her business, and get her friend Eve to sleep with him to win his account. He deliberately told Eve an incorrect shuttle return time so Peter would miss the boat and be stuck on an island with Amanda so he could have time to seduce Eve, and then after Eve rebuffed him, he lied and said Amanda told him to do it. He then tried to sleep with Lexi to seal their business deal but died of a heart attack due to taking too many sexual performance pills.
• Karma Houdini:
  • Kimberly usually got away with a lot of her bad behavior, and when it did finally catch up with her, it was still looked at as Disproportionate Retribution.
  • For some reason, Sydney got away completely for stealing away Jane's one-time fiance and poisoning her drink, causing her to be temporarily paralyzed.
• Killed Off for Real: Brooke, Richard, Kimberly, Sydney (in the reboot, anyway), Craig, and Matt.
• Kubrick Stare: Kimberly gives a great one in the season three finale, just before she blows up the apartment complex.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • As her marriage to Billy was crumbling, Brooke tries to play nice with him and act charming in the hopes of him forgiving her and possibly taking her back. Too bad her manipulative, greedy, jealous and selfish nature turned him off completely to the point where he eventually filed for divorce.
  • Craig's father, Arthur, was a vicious businessman and father who had a hand in his own father's death years earlier. While in an argument with his son and Amanda, he suffers a heart attack and while she tries to save him, he holds her back and lets him die.
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Let's see:
  • Jane becomes pregnant in season 1, though initially doesn't tell Michael because he didn't want to have kids during that stage of their marriage (when Michael was still the goal-oriented doctor in the early phases of his career while Jane had a job as a shop owner). Eventually, the two come around to it before Jane has a Convenient Miscarriage.
  • Jo finds herself pregnant with her ex Reed's baby. The same Reed who kidnapped and nearly killed her. She considered giving the child up for adoption but this was later blocked by Reed's parents who wanted the child for themselves. Eventually, after much shenanigans on both sides (resulting in Jo getting shot and injured by Reed's dad at one point), Jo definitely gives the baby Austin up for adoption.
  • It turns out Jane was adopted in season 5. Her parents initially believed they couldn't have children and so adopted her as an infant. It turns out this was not the case when Sydney ended up coming around only a couple of years later.
  • Alison falls pregnant with Jake's baby despite not wanting children. As a result, she wants an abortion but then reconsiders and wants the baby. But then for medical reasons, Alison has to undergo the abortion anyway.
  • Kyle and Amanda try for a baby, but Kyle is erroneously told he is infertile. He develops a massive alcohol and drug problem and refuses to tell Amanda that he is infertile. After being accused of cheating he finally goes to rehab, and then Amanda becomes pregnant, but she loses the baby after trying to intervene in a fight between Kyle and Peter and accidentally falling out of a window.
• Local Hangout: Jake's bar Shooters in the first five seasons, then Kyle's two places in the last two, his self-titled restaurant and the Upstairs, a local jazz hangout.
• Love Dodecahedron: Yep. Too many examples to list but almost everyone has dated each other at some point or another. For example, Michael married a grand total of four times during the original series and was engaged to be married a fifth time until she broke it off. Additionally, Amanda has been with nearly every main male character on MP with the exceptions of Matt (who's gay; incidentally, the only one who stayed beyond season 1 who is largely uninvolved in this dodecahedron), Coop, and Ryan.
• Love Makes You Crazy: Tons of example, though Kimberly is basically the poster child for the trope (she ran over Michael once, though he still got back together with her after he learned about it).
• Mama Bear: Kimberly's mother, who ended up being quite scary in her own right. Then there is a matter of Michael and Jennifer's mother...
• Mini Dress Of Power: Any woman who worked at D&D Advertising was required to sport one (if not a business suit of such), sans pantyhose, of course.
• Monochrome Casting: Much like its parent show. The first season featured only one black character, who was quickly written out for lack of storyline.
• Mr. Fanservice: Let's be honest. ALL of the men on Melrose Place were this (hello, Grant Show in the opening credits), as were many of the guest stars, including popular male supermodel Antonio Sabato, Jr.
• Ms. Fanservice: The women of Melrose Place were absolutely gorgeous. Heather Locklear was even considered one of the most beautiful women of the 1990s.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Alison experiences this after running down a young bicyclist while driving under the influence. Fortunately, the kid lives.
• Near-Rape Experience: Jo, at the hands of her abusive ex-husband Charles Reynolds; Alison, courtesy of psycho stalker Keith Gray; Sydney, special thanks to sister Jane's manipulative, perverted boyfriend Chris Marchette; Amanda, moments before pushing ex-hubby Jack Parezi to his eventual death.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Many, including Sydney by a bunch of fellow prostitutes, Matt when he was gay-bashed by some men hired by Kimberly and perhaps the most violent of all, Peter while in prison by several other inmates.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Amy Locane's "Southern" accent was all over the place. Also, Jo was apparently from New York City, yet had no trace of a New York accent.
• Odd Friendship: Earnest Matt and philandering Michael were friends. In fact, Matt was one of Mike's closest and most loyal friends who stuck with him through a lot of his B.S.
• Oh, Crap!: Amanda's reaction after she realized that Sydney was a witness to the final, violent moments of Jack Parezi; he tried to strangle her on his deathbed, he died of his brain injury and she slapped him after he did.
• Old Shame: In-Universe. It's revealed that Michael used to be an exotic dancer to pay his way through medical school. It gets even worse when Peter learns about it.
• One-Hour Work Week: In a place where your options for employment were at an advertising company, the only hospital in town, the only bar in town, fashion designing, coming from money or being a prostitute, this is essentially what freelance photographer Jo had.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Dr. Hobbes, the one-time hospital administrator of Wilshire Memorial. Initially firing Matt due to being wrongfully accused in a murder, he then blurts out how glad he was to "fire the little faggot." Michael was so appalled at this that he helped get the bastard fired as a result.
• Poorly Disguised Pilot: Jake's appearances on Beverly Hills, 90210 were definitely the lead-ins to the show.
• Prime Time Soap: One of the most famous examples.
• Prison Episode: Several, as many of the main cast has been in prison, and usually wrongfully accused.
• Product Displacement: In Jake's bike shop, there is a vending machine with an altered but thinly veiled Pepsi logo.
• Professionals Do It on Desks: Amanda and Kyle, anyone?
• Put on a Bus: Half of the cast before season five ended, leaving only Michael, Billy, and Amanda as the only characters left from season 1.
  • The Bus Came Back: Jane before season six ended (this time for good).
  • Put on a Bus to Hell: Poor Alison...she wanted to leave L.A. in order to get a fresh start in Atlanta, only to land up back in rehab within a year.
• Railing Kill: How Jess Hanson^note Jake's scumbag, woman-beating older half-brother dies after getting in a fight with Jake. This is also how Jack Parezi ultimately died.
• Rape as Drama: Richard did this to Jane, which slowly, but steadily, set the poor girl on a path of Heroic BSoD.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: The season 3 finale where Kimberly blows up the complex ended up being postponed due to the Oklahoma City Bombing that took place weeks before the season finale and the show not wanting to seem insensitive to the tragedy. What date did the bombing ultimately take place? Season 4's premiere, September 11, 1995.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In one of her most awesome moments, Jane confronts Kimberly on her cheating with Michael, calling her a "pathetic bitch".
• Remarried to the Mistress: Michael to Kimberly.
• Remember the New Guy?:
  • Sydney was an example of this when she was first introduced in season 1, as Jane never mentioned any siblings prior to her appearance. In fact, Jane called herself "George Andrews' only daughter" only a couple episodes before Sydney arrived at Melrose.
  • Michael's younger sister Jennifer is a downplayed example as he mentioned that he has numerous siblings but Jennifer herself is never explicitly mentioned by name prior to season 5. Her previous relationship with Kyle is also a downplayed example of this since it's mentioned that his affair with her was the reason why he and Taylor moved to LA to begin with, though the fact that Jennifer was the mistress is only first mentioned when she shows up.
  • Coop is introduced as an ex-lover of Kimberly's, during her absence from the show after her car accident and presumed death in season 2. He isn't so much as hinted at prior to his introduction at the start of season 6 and even then Kimberly had already died.
  • Matt's brother Luke is only mentioned in the episode where he died (offscreen), leaving Matt to take custody of his niece Chelsea in season 5.
  • Taylor is introduced as the younger sister of Peter's late wife, though her relation to him is only revealed in season 5.
• Retcon: In season four, Peter said his father had died many years ago, yet in season seven, he announced that his father just passed away.
  • A better-known version would be Jane, who was seen in family home movies as being brought out of the hospital after being born by her and Sydney's mother, who had just given birth to her, yet we learn in season five that she was adopted.
  • In the same episode, Jane mentions she is George Andrews' "only" daughter. Only a couple of episodes later, her sister Sydney shows up and the rest is history...
• Retool: Originally a fairly staid drama, the series was eventually turned into trashy daytime soap for its second season.
• Revenge: You don't say. Kimberly basically lived on getting this against people.
• Revival: The 2009 version.
• Revolving Door Casting: The original cast consisted of Michael, Jane, Alison, Billy, Jake, Matt, Rhonda, and Sandy. From there, it's a doozy.
  • Season 1: Sandy left 13 episodes in, while Rhonda left after the first season. Jo replaced Sandy, while Amanda would make her first appearance in episode 21.
  • Season 2: Amanda is added to the opening credits as "Special Guest Star". Sydney also returns as a Fake Guest Star, while Kimberly initially appears to be taking the same route as the former until she is seemingly killed off in a car accident. Only for her to return towards the end of the season.
  • Season 3: Sydney is added to the main cast roster, while Kimberly continues her Fake Guest Star tenure.
  • Season 4: Kimberly, Peter, and Brooke (the latter two introduced during the previous season) are upgraded to main cast. Brooke dies in episode 22. Jo leaves at the end of the season.
  • Season 5: Samantha (introduced late in season 4) is upped to regular, while Kyle and Taylor are introduced as new main characters in the premiere. Megan and Craig are later introduced and upped to regulars as well during the season. The show's first major cast exodus occurs with: Jane departing in episode 15, followed by Kimberly's death in episode 26, Jake and Alison's departures in the finale, and Sydney's death also in the finale.
  • Season 6: Matt leaves in the premiere. Jennifer (introduced late in season 5) is promoted to main character status while both Coop and Lexi are introduced and soon become main characters as well. By the end of the season, Craig has committed suicide, while Billy, Jennifer, Coop, Samantha, and Taylor leave. Jane also returns.
  • Season 7: Kyle's brother Ryan joins the cast. The final cast lineup is Michael, Jane, Amanda, Peter, Kyle, Megan, Lexi, and Ryan - with Michael the only character to remain throughout its entire run.
• Rule of Pool: The pool of Melrose Place is considered iconic.
• Sanity Slippage: Kimberly for two whole seasons, culminating in her ending up with two split personalities, no less. Sadly enough, it may have to do with her previous head injury/brain surgery.
• Serial Spouse: Michael, all the way. Married to Jane (divorced), her sister Sydney (divorced), Kimberly (divorced), Megan (divorced), Jane again (divorced), and Vanessa (in the reboot; widowed).
  • Amanda was married four times, though the first one occurred prior to her first appearance in the series.
• Shameful Strip: In season 7, Eve knocks out Lexi and takes her clothes, leaving her Bound and Gagged in the bathtub in her underwear. The stolen clothes don't stop Lexi from escaping when she gets an opportunity, but they do allow Eve to frame Lexi for attempted murder.
• She Is All Grown Up: What fans thought upon seeing Alyssa Milano on the show.
• Shirtless Scene: It helps that almost all the male cast were Mr. Fanservice.
• Shout-Out:
  • Billy Campbell was named after actor Bill Campbell.
  • The bigoted Chief of Staff from season four was named Dr. Calvin Hobbes.
• Smug Snake: Several, with Michael Mancini being the most notable.
  Jerry Seinfeld: "Oh, I hate that Michael, he's just so SMUG!!"
• Spin-Off: the short-lived Models, Inc.
• Split Personality: Kimberly by the end of season 4 where she had two different ones, a prim-and-proper one and a leather-clad, wild one.
• Statuesque Stunner: Kimberly is noticeably taller than the other women at 5'10". Megan herself stands 5'9".
• Straight Gay: Matt as well as his many boyfriends. Not that it stopped any of the typical stereotypes about him, though.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Jennifer Mancini for Sydney Andrews Mancini as far as conniving, slutty younger sisters go. This was even lampshaded by Craig during a rather heated argument with her where he yelled, "You will never be Sydney!"
• Tailor-Made Prison: Sydney in ''Boxing Sydney.''
• This Is a Drill: Peter almost underwent this in the penultimate episode of season four from Kimberly, but it was stopped at the last minute.
• Together in Death: Subverted in the series finale. Peter and Amanda are believed to have perished in a cottage explosion, but in reality, they did it for the insurance money and so they could remarry each other on a faraway beach at sunset.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Michael, Billy, Kyle and Ryan.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Michael, duh. Also, Billy for a short while after Brooke's death and learning that his true love Alison was going out with his close friend, Jake. He got over it, though.
  • Jane throughout season four is a fine example, even after she is raped by Richard, which by then, gave her one hell of an excuse for her terrible behavior.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • On the flipside of Jane, there was Amanda, who felt genuinely bad for both firing Alison and the serious injuries she suffered in the complex explosion, so much that it was noted that both women actually switched personalities. Not to mention, she became sympathetic after her abusive ex-husband had crawled his way back into her life.
  • Kimberly in season five, due to her declining health and genuine love and concern for Michael.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Michael, who suffered amnesia after being run over by Kimberly.
• The Unfavorite: Sydney, in spades. Bobby Parezi also qualifies.
• Unholy Matrimony: Kimberly and Michael's marriage could count because of numerous backstabbings, infidelities, and the occasional attempted murder.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Throughout season four, Sydney dresses in various 60s-style clothing and hairstyles (including an evening dress and go-go boots at different points) and no one ever so much as comments on it.
• Unwanted Spouse: Sydney ends up as this for Michael. To wit, she blackmailed him into marrying her after she learned that he was drunk during the car crash that "killed" Kimberly and he forced Matt into helping him cover it up.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Michael and Peter. When they weren't stabbing each other in the back they were solid friends. Also Jo and Jane in season four while fighting over Richard.
• Wham Shot: Seasons three through six used these frequently in the bumpers to commercial break, showcasing a crucial or poignant scene from the episode.
• What You Are in the Dark: Amanda tries to pull her abusive ex-husband Jack Parezi's plug while he was in coma, but couldn't bring herself to do it.
• Wicked Stepmother: Inverted. Alison married Brooke's father Hayley Armstrong in season 4, thus making the latter Alison's stepdaughter. While Alison attempted to act civil towards her, Brooke's bitchy behavior drove a wedge farther into their relationship, which was already strained when Brooke dated and married Alison's ex, Billy. Alison, even after Hayley's death, tried to help Brooke through financial destitution, though Brooke remained resistant to the point where everyone at Melrose, including Billy himself, would turn away from her.
• Widowed at the Wedding: Craig, when Sydney is hit by a car just after leaving the church.
• Will They or Won't They?: Billy and Alison. They don't.
• Would Hit a Girl: Jake's half-brother, Jess, as well as many of the other losers in Jo's life, save for Jake, of course.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Several characters over the years, but arguably Sydney got it the worst: after spending years fruitlessly looking for the love, success and acceptance that was denied throughout life, she finally finds genuine love in wealthy and handsome Craig and they happily marry...only for her to be cruelly run down at her wedding by Samantha and her deadbeat father.

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