Hey everybody, it’s time to take a trip to camp. No, not summer camp, but rather, classic camp, courtesy of CBS’ soap opera Central Park West, a Darren Star spectacular that, alas, died young and ridiculous back in June 1996. There’s so much to ooh and guffaw about in this clip: The preposterously wooden dialogue ("You know what Freud always said: ‘Hatred of women starts with the mother!’"); Ron Leibman’s forearm-sized cellphone; and of course, Raquel Welch’s insane, sing-songy line readings. Where have all the outsized primetime sudsers gone, PopWatchers?
Jun 12
2007
10:00 AM ET
Who else remembers this? (Vol. 7)
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And you forgot to mention the restaurant with the gigantic pool in the middle of it. LOVED this show, especially the hottie that played the JFK Jr.-ish character.
I think “Why don’t you step out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini?” is the worst line in this show. Ahh, bad Darren Star shows. Whatever happened to him?
The phones were that big in 96? I thought they would have had those medium-sized Motorola flip phones by then…that phone looked like it was from the 80s!
LOVE that line, “step out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini”, I’ll use that line next time I’m in a bar/resturant and two women start fighting in a pool.
Can’t wait for Darren Star’s new Cashmire Mafia next season, with Lucy Lu, we should be getting some more great lines such as those on CPW!
OMG!! Loved this show! Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. It was a great love letter to the city with the JFK character and his wicked sister (played by Twin Peak’s Madachen Amick), publisher Mauriel Hemmingway and her philandering photographer husband (a very HOT Tom Vera), and gallery owner Michelle Michaels (or something… this is all from memory). I hope this fall’s “Dirty Sexy Money” picks up the torch. (At the time) Third-place CBS’s attempt at young programming was a diaster, but I loved this show.
Sounds like the pits! Glad I never watched.
I believe all the big soaps have gone to BBCAmerica.
The lovely John Barrowman was on this show. He played the “JFK character” that a few others have referred to.
I should have included this in my comment–a scene with John Barrowman as Peter Fairchild:
Good Lord, that is truly truly awesome. Made my day.
I agree with RobC: loved this show! The best part was all the musical theatre people in it, like John Barrowman and Melissa Errico. My sis and I were devastated when this got canceled, haha!
CENTRAL PARK WEST is the BEST SHOW EVER! And that restaurant with the reflecting pool is a real restaurant in NYC with a real reflecting pool…
It was no “Titans,” but it was fun.
i still have the original print ad for cpw hanging up in my basement. it was kind of a joke between my wife and i, to see if i could watch it. like an endurance test (coming off a rough season of 90210 inspired it). i ended up liking the show after it came back from a long hiatus and major dad joined the cast. if nothing else it was slightly better than malibu nights.
I miss good primetime soaps. I need something involving a pool, catty socialites and absurd premises. Titans was awesome. This show was awesome. Models Inc was also incredible. I’ve been watching reruns of Dallas on SoapNet, longing for the return of a show that is so patently ridiculous that it is amazing.