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Spring 2004
"Welcome back to Good Morning USA, and for those of you just joining us, I'm Sheila Parker, filling in for your regular host, Annette Ryan, who has been sidelined this week with a mild case of the flu. Feel better, Annette, everyone here at GMU misses you terribly," the blonde-haired woman in green said to both the studio audience spread out across the large sound stage and the multitude watching on their television screens at home. "Joining us in our next half hour are some old friends who really don't need any introduction, the cast of that classic late 80s sitcom, 19 Garden Place. They'll be here to talk about their new film -- Return to Garden Place, which will be premiering on this Network on Friday night."
Briefly turning away from the audience to the five empty director chairs laid out behind her, Sheila glanced at her image in the large offstage monitor to check her appearance, once again feeling pleased that she had worn the bright green dress instead of that drab blue one that the show's fashion coordinator had laid out for her. Then, making sure that her professional smile was firmly in place, the forty-six-year-old turned back to the crowd.
Like so much about Sheila, the smile was a fabrication and she really didn't miss Annette Ryan at all. In fact, her most fervent wish was that the long-time star of GMU might have a relapse, or even better, come down with something that might prevent her from returning to the show permanently. It never occurred to the second-rate personality that, if that were ever to come to pass, she would hardly be the one that the producers of the top-rated morning show would pass the baton to.
Catching a hand signal from the wings that her guests were ready, Sheila disregarded the introduction she had just read off the teleprompter, as well as the stage director's intention for the cast to walk onstage en masse, and proceeded to introduce each actor and the role they played in both the old show and the upcoming film. Regardless of what the Network thought, Garden Place was hardly a classic and the cast hardly old friends -- especially one in particular. If it had been up to her, they wouldn't have been on the show at all.
"Kaitlyn Giordano," Sheila cried out as a thirty-five-year-old brunette with shoulder length hair stepped out on stage. Only five two and a hundred and twenty-four pounds, the actress who had played Cyndi Reynolds on the original show wore a form fitting, short sleeved white dress that showed off her prominent bust. Over the course of the show's original eight-year run, viewers had appreciably watched her character go from an awkward preteen to a rapidly developing adolescent and finally, by the time the show ended, a stunning young woman.
As Kaitlyn took her seat in the first chair, the second member of the ensemble appeared. Doreen Young was fifty-eight, stood five seven and although taller than her co-star, actually weighed a few pounds less. Her short black hair barely extended to her neck line, around which she wore a small string of pearls that accented the simple sleeveless navy-blue dress she wore. She had played Louise Reynolds, Cyndi's mother on the series.
Next came Delores Grant, who played Harriet Lee, grandmother and mother to the two previous characters. Also five two, the seventy-nine-year old's list of acting credits dated back to the early fifties and her role on Our Little Family, one of the first sitcoms. Dressed in a multi-colored full-length dress, the slim actress projected that same aura of sexuality that had defined her long career.
Nearly seven decades separated Delores and the next arrival. Starring in her first film, Emily Carr was a new addition to the cast, playing the role of Kari Thomas, Cyndi's daughter. Already a veteran of a half-dozen commercials, the thirteen-year-old was dressed simply in a light blue blouse and denim skirt.
Last to appear was Spencer Morgan, Martin Thomas on the series. Five ten and two hundred pounds, he filled out his sports shirt and slacks with a muscular build that seemed incongruous, given his actual age of fifty-seven. A few bits of gray dotted his hair and tightly trimmed beard, but both only seemed to add to his appeal.
Fans of the show, and there were far more than Sheila imagined, would remember that it had revolved around the residents of a three-story walkup owned by Louis Reynolds and her mother. Louise, who was divorced, shared the first floor with her teenage daughter while Harriet occupied the small attic apartment. Sandwiched in between was Martin and his own teenage son, Alan.
The reunion film picked up fifteen years after the show's final episode and not much had changed at Garden Place, other than Harriet having moved to a senior living facility, which allowed Delores to limit her role to just a cameo. Cyndi now lived on the first floor with Kari, and Louise had moved to the attic. Martin still occupied his old place, but now he shared it with a previously unmentioned nephew who had just retired from the Army.
Sheila kept to the questions on the small index cards provided by the staff for the first few minutes of the interview, directing most of them to Kaitlyn, who was not only the star of the film but also executive producer. The last of her inquiries allowed Kaitlyn to explain that Tom Reed, who was playing Mike Reeve, Martin's nephew, had been unable to make the show due to a prior commitment.
"Now that you brought it up," Sheila said, having been waiting for an opening to interject a little controversy to spice up the fluff piece, "I'm sure many fans are curious as to why you added a new potential love interest to the show, rather than have Boyd Hudson return in the role of Alan Thomas. Didn't your two characters get married in the series finale?"
If Sheila had expected the question to catch Kaitlyn off guard, she was sorely disappointed. Without missing a beat, the veteran of three television shows and nearly a dozen cinematic features gave a well-practiced reply.
"The writers did consider bringing back Boyd," Kaitlyn replied, "but since the original dynamic of the show was that of a single mom raising her daughter, they decided to stay with it. After all, if it ain't broke, why fix it?"
"So, like her mother, Cyndi couldn't make her marriage work?" Sheila interjected, still trying to get a reaction out of Kaitlyn.
"Actually, she's a widow," Kaitlyn pointed out, showing that Sheila hadn't done her homework on the new film. "Part of the backstory is that Alan was killed in a car crash, which was what necessitated Cyndi moving back to Garden Place."
What Kaitlyn didn't say was that not bringing back Boyd Hudson was one decision that all of the original cast heartily agreed with. Boyd, who was two years younger than Kaitlyn, even though their characters were supposed to be the same age, had been viewed as precocious when the series had first started. Over the years, however, he'd grown into an obnoxious young man and managed to antagonize just about everyone on the set. In the years since the series ended, Boyd had managed to get himself fired off two other shows, and from what anyone had heard, he was currently working at his brother's car dealership back in Indiana. In the first drafts of the script, Alan and Cyndi were simply supposed to be divorced, but Kaitlyn had insisted that his character be killed off, to forestall any suggestion of Boyd also making a guest appearance.
Seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere with Kaitlyn, Sheila shifted her attention to her co-star sitting to her right.
"So, tell me, Doreen," she asked, "what was it about this new film that made you decide to return to acting after, what has it been, ten years? As I recall, you announced your retirement shortly after you were outed in Lara Robert's controversial book, Hollywood Queer."
Like Kaitlyn, Doreen was too much of a professional to let herself be flustered by a question she expected to be asked. It was obvious to her that Sheila was determined to turn what was basically supposed to be a softball piece to promote the film into an interrogation, one that, if she was lucky, might produce a viral moment that might boost her standing with the Network. Taking a short breath, Doreen calmly answered the question, which only seemed to irritate the blonde even more.
"Yes Sheila, I did retire from acting ten years ago," Doreen smiled, "but it had little to do with that piece of tabloid trash that can only be laughingly referred to as a book. While it's true that I didn't advertise my sexuality, it's also true that I wasn't in the closet either. Most of my friends and co-workers knew of my sexual preference; and it never prevented me from getting a role before and I really didn't expect it to do so afterwards. My decision to change the direction of my life really had nothing to do with people in general now knowing I was a lesbian."
From the expression on her face, it was obvious that Sheila wasn't happy with the answer.
"And to answer the first part of your question," Doreen continued, "the only thing that really would've gotten me back in front of a camera was the desire to do a favor for someone I've always looked upon as a surrogate daughter, and who has grown into not only a great actress but also an excellent television producer."
