Strange Paradise
Encyclopedia
Strange Paradise is a Canadian
occult / supernatural soap opera
of 195 episodes, initially launched in syndication in the United States on September 8, 1969, and later broadcast on CBC Television
from October 20, 1969 to July 22, 1970. The production was the brainchild of producer Steve Krantz
, in an attempt to capitalize on the phenomenal success of ABC
's daytime serial Dark Shadows
. To develop this series, Krantz hired actor-writer Ian Martin and veteran TV and radio producer Jerry Layton, both of who would be given screen credit for the creation of Strange Paradise. With the CBC and American broadcasters Metromedia
and Kaiser Broadcasting
handling distribution and co-production, the series was produced in Ottawa
at CTV
affiliate CJOH-TV
and aired for 39 weeks, presenting three separate 13-week story arcs.
After its sixty-fifth episode, Strange Paradise was substantially re-tooled, jettisoning the majority of the cast and moving its setting from the Caribbean to Desmond Hall, the family’s ancestral home in North America. The stories presented in this overhauled version of the series involve the "mark of death" driving Jean Paul to murder, the disappearance of Jean Paul’s brother Philip, the machinations of a witches’ coven against the Desmond's , the influence of the Serpent God at Desmond Hall, and ultimately the final showdown with the powers of darkness. However, the unifying thread which binds all of these elements is Jean Paul’s struggle to lift the curse which plagues the Desmond family. Additional characters in the Desmond Hall cast include Jean Paul's kindly cousin Ada Thaxton and her brooding son Cort, Laszlo Thaxton, Ada's conniving second husband, Irene Hatter, the town gossip and a witch, Emily Blair, a shy researcher invited by Philip, Susan O'Clair, whose destiny and those who are around her draw her to Desmond Hall, Helena Rawley, an actress and Erica's doppelganger, and Julien Desmond, Ada's long lost father.
was chosen to play the dual roles of Jean Paul and Jacques. Fox has gone on to distinguish himself in numerous roles on stage, screen and television, with memorable turns in productions ranging from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
. Other players in the Maljardin cast include Cosette Lee
as Raxl, Kurt Schiegl as Quito, Sylvia Feigel as Holly, Dan MacDonald as Rev. Matt Dawson , Jon Granik as Dan, Paisley Maxwell as Elizabeth, Dawn Greenhalgh as Allison and Angela Roland as Vangie. Of particular note among this original cast are Bruce Gray as Tim and Tudi Wiggins as Erica, who went on to appear in a number of further daytime dramas and feature films.
The series' only original cast members to make the jump from Maljardin to Strange Paradises Desmond Hall episodes were Colin Fox, Cosette Lee
, Kurt Schiegl, Sylvia Feigel, and Tudi Wiggins (though only Fox and Lee remained with the cast to the series’ final episode). New performers cast as Desmond Hall regulars include Neil Dainard as Phillip, Pat Moffat as Irene, Jack Creley as Laslo, Peg Dixon and Jan Campbell as Ada, David Wells as Cort, Lucy Warner as Emily Blair, Vivian Reis as Agatha Pruitt, Trudy Young as Susan and Robert Goodier as Julien Desmond.
, may have been responsible for some these early episodes. This seems unlikely though, as no documentation exists to support this claim, and much attention has been given to the fact that Judith produced her first novel with virtually no background in writing (that novel being published years after the production of Strange Paradise). After the series’ ninth week, a shake-up in the production staff resulted in Ian Martin’s departure. Writers George Salverson and Ron Chudley were quickly brought in to keep the continuing story afloat while a further writing staff was assembled. Soon, scripting chores were being handled by a team which included Cornelius Crane, Joseph Caldwell, Ronald Sproat and James Elward. Later, a television neophyte named Harding Lemay
was added to this roster and, despite his inexperience, in the series’ final months Lemay became its sole scripter. Many Strange Paradise fans complain about the lack of continuity in his installments, but Harding Lemay has gone on to become a near-legend in the soap opera field, particularly for his work on Another World
.
began late-night airings of the show in conjunction with its popular local series Nightmare Theatre. Los Angeles’ KTLA
ran the series in syndication from September 28, 1970 to September 3, 1971. Later, WSNS-TV
in Chicago carried it in 1976. In 1977, Canadian re-broadcasts were seen on Lethbridge, Alberta’s CJOC-TV
and Winnipeg’s CKND-TV
. 1978 saw the series airing on Albuquerque, New Mexico’s UHF channel 23 KMXN
, a Spanish language station. (In fact, Strange Paradise was dubbed into Spanish early in its production, and has been presented in many portions of Central and South America.) Toronto's CITY-TV
later resurrected the series sporadically in the 1980s and '90s. It also wound up on Milwaukee's low-power TV outlet W08BY
in 1988, where it aired twice a day. Back in the U.S., Martinsburg, West Virginia's station WWPX-TV treated its viewership to the series in 1992 and 1993. Also in 1993, Strange Paradise found new life in the home video market, when a company named Centaur Distribution began issuing the series on video cassette. Eventually, 21 volumes were released on vhs, encompassing the first 105 installments of the series, before the project folded. Since that time, the rights to Strange Paradise have been purchased by a group called Nihali Entertainment but, to date, no DVD release of the series has been forthcoming. However the show has remained available for broadcast in syndication since its premier in 1969, most recently surfacing on Canada’s Drive-In Classics
just in time for the series’ 35th anniversary north of the border. It aired on Drive-In Classics from October 4, 2004 to October 1, 2007.
Between 1974 and 1980, Ian Martin contributed numerous scripts to Himan Brown’s CBS Radio Mystery Theater
, and many of these radio plays contained elements recognizably taken directly from his earlier writings on Strange Paradise. Chief among these efforts were his August 7, 1975, script To Die Is Forever (which is a virtual re-telling of the Maljardin story), Here Goes the Bride (February 4, 1974) and The Spectral Bride (September 26, 1974). Around 1979, Martin began adapting some of his CBS Radio Mystery Theater scripts to novel form for publisher Popular Library, and one of the scripts chosen for this treatment was Here Goes the Bride. The novel saw publication in 1980 under the title Shadow over Seventh Heaven, credited to Martin's pseudonym Joen Arliss. Unforunately, during the adaptation process he excised many of the elements which linked his original script with Strange Paradise. However, his earlier Joen Arliss novel Nightmare's Nest does display a few of Martin's Strange Paradise influences.
The birth of the internet has given rise to new outlets of influence for Strange Paradise. Online, a Yahoo Group has been founded, enabling fans of the series to share thoughts and messages. Likewise, individual fans have established websites to document the series and promote its fandom.
Strange Paradise was marketed to potential broadcasters via the pilot episode shot in May 1969 and an accompanying pitch reel of related scenes, referred to by Krantz Films’ staff as "the Vignettes". A few actors and characters were dropped or altered after the filming of these initial promotional pieces. Actor Paul Harding, who played the role of Dan Forrest in the pilot, declined to continue with the series and was replaced by Jon Granik. Likewise, the part of Jacques Eloi des Mondes’ wife Huaco was originated by actress Patricia Collins, but she did not join the series’ regular cast. Perhaps most significantly, actress Nonnie Griffin portrayed the pilot’s Beryl Forbes, a character slated to be the Conjure Woman (a role important to the series). However, Ms. Griffin declined to participate in the continuing series, and her character was dropped entirely. Instead, the role of the Conjure Woman fell to Vangie Abbott, as portrayed by actress Angela Roland.
Krantz Films’ decision to restructure the series’ production staff came so abruptly in the show’s ninth week that the storyline in progress had to be re-written practically on the fly. Ian Martin’s story was scuttled so quickly that there was no time to change the promotional blurbs which were sent out some weeks in advance to newspapers and local TV schedule listings. As a result, around November–December 1969 a number of U.S. publications carried daily descriptions of Ian Martin episodes which were never actually produced.
Between October 2001 and January 2002, the Nepean Museum
near Ottawa, presented an exhibit celebrating the history of CJOH-TV. Among the items displayed were props and costumes from Strange Paradise, including cast photos, set designs, shooting scripts and the original conjure doll.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
occult / supernatural soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
of 195 episodes, initially launched in syndication in the United States on September 8, 1969, and later broadcast on CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
from October 20, 1969 to July 22, 1970. The production was the brainchild of producer Steve Krantz
Steve Krantz
Stephen Falk Krantz was a film producer and writer who was most active from 1966 to 1996.- Career :Born in Brooklyn, New York, Steve Krantz graduated from Columbia University and went on to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces in the Pacific during World War II as a second lieutenant.He worked as a...
, in an attempt to capitalize on the phenomenal success of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's daytime serial Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. To develop this series, Krantz hired actor-writer Ian Martin and veteran TV and radio producer Jerry Layton, both of who would be given screen credit for the creation of Strange Paradise. With the CBC and American broadcasters Metromedia
Metromedia
Metromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
and Kaiser Broadcasting
Kaiser Broadcasting
Kaiser Broadcasting was the name of an entity that owned and operated broadcast television stations in the United States from 1958 to 1977.-History:...
handling distribution and co-production, the series was produced in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
at CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
affiliate CJOH-TV
CJOH-TV
CJOH-DT is a television station serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding region. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network....
and aired for 39 weeks, presenting three separate 13-week story arcs.
Plot summary
The series’ protagonist is billionaire Jean Paul Desmond, a tragic character whose absolute refusal to accept the death of his beloved wife Erica on the remote Caribbean island of Maljardin leads him to a blasphemous defiance of God. He strikes an ill-fated bargain with the spirit of his sinister ancestor, Jacques Eloi des Mondes, drives the story for the series’ first thirteen weeks. Other characters in the cast include Raxl and Quito; a pair of devoted and mysterious servants, Holly Marshall; a runaway heiress,Reverend Matthew Dawson; a conflicted minister, Evangeline "Vangie" Abott; a local mystic, Tim Stanton; a struggling artist, Erica's sister Allison Carr; a female doctor, Dan Forrest; an outraged business associate, and Holly's mother Elizabeth Marshall; a social-climbing widow.After its sixty-fifth episode, Strange Paradise was substantially re-tooled, jettisoning the majority of the cast and moving its setting from the Caribbean to Desmond Hall, the family’s ancestral home in North America. The stories presented in this overhauled version of the series involve the "mark of death" driving Jean Paul to murder, the disappearance of Jean Paul’s brother Philip, the machinations of a witches’ coven against the Desmond's , the influence of the Serpent God at Desmond Hall, and ultimately the final showdown with the powers of darkness. However, the unifying thread which binds all of these elements is Jean Paul’s struggle to lift the curse which plagues the Desmond family. Additional characters in the Desmond Hall cast include Jean Paul's kindly cousin Ada Thaxton and her brooding son Cort, Laszlo Thaxton, Ada's conniving second husband, Irene Hatter, the town gossip and a witch, Emily Blair, a shy researcher invited by Philip, Susan O'Clair, whose destiny and those who are around her draw her to Desmond Hall, Helena Rawley, an actress and Erica's doppelganger, and Julien Desmond, Ada's long lost father.
Cast
Canadian actor Colin FoxColin Fox
Colin Fox is the national spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party, and a former member for Lothian in the Scottish Parliament...
was chosen to play the dual roles of Jean Paul and Jacques. Fox has gone on to distinguish himself in numerous roles on stage, screen and television, with memorable turns in productions ranging from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal is a Canadian science fiction drama television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000...
. Other players in the Maljardin cast include Cosette Lee
Cosette Lee
Cosette Lee was a Toronto character, television and film actress.-Early life and career:Lee started performing at a young age; in 1920 at the age of 10 she performed as an impersonator as an opening act at a local movie theatre...
as Raxl, Kurt Schiegl as Quito, Sylvia Feigel as Holly, Dan MacDonald as Rev. Matt Dawson , Jon Granik as Dan, Paisley Maxwell as Elizabeth, Dawn Greenhalgh as Allison and Angela Roland as Vangie. Of particular note among this original cast are Bruce Gray as Tim and Tudi Wiggins as Erica, who went on to appear in a number of further daytime dramas and feature films.
The series' only original cast members to make the jump from Maljardin to Strange Paradises Desmond Hall episodes were Colin Fox, Cosette Lee
Cosette Lee
Cosette Lee was a Toronto character, television and film actress.-Early life and career:Lee started performing at a young age; in 1920 at the age of 10 she performed as an impersonator as an opening act at a local movie theatre...
, Kurt Schiegl, Sylvia Feigel, and Tudi Wiggins (though only Fox and Lee remained with the cast to the series’ final episode). New performers cast as Desmond Hall regulars include Neil Dainard as Phillip, Pat Moffat as Irene, Jack Creley as Laslo, Peg Dixon and Jan Campbell as Ada, David Wells as Cort, Lucy Warner as Emily Blair, Vivian Reis as Agatha Pruitt, Trudy Young as Susan and Robert Goodier as Julien Desmond.
Writers
The first nine weeks of Strange Paradise were scripted solely by series co-creator Ian Martin. Spurious claims have also suggested that Steve Krantz’s wife, bestselling novelist Judith KrantzJudith Krantz
Judith Krantz , is an American novelist who writes in the romance genre. Her works include Scruples, Princess Daisy, and Till We Meet Again.-Early years:...
, may have been responsible for some these early episodes. This seems unlikely though, as no documentation exists to support this claim, and much attention has been given to the fact that Judith produced her first novel with virtually no background in writing (that novel being published years after the production of Strange Paradise). After the series’ ninth week, a shake-up in the production staff resulted in Ian Martin’s departure. Writers George Salverson and Ron Chudley were quickly brought in to keep the continuing story afloat while a further writing staff was assembled. Soon, scripting chores were being handled by a team which included Cornelius Crane, Joseph Caldwell, Ronald Sproat and James Elward. Later, a television neophyte named Harding Lemay
Harding Lemay
Harding Lemay is an American screenwriter and playwright. Born near the Mohawk Indian reservation, where his mother grew up, he ran away to New York City at age 17, where he has lived ever since.-Career:...
was added to this roster and, despite his inexperience, in the series’ final months Lemay became its sole scripter. Many Strange Paradise fans complain about the lack of continuity in his installments, but Harding Lemay has gone on to become a near-legend in the soap opera field, particularly for his work on Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
.
Reruns and later distribution
Almost immediately following the production of Strange Paradises final episode (even while the series was still in the final weeks of its original CBC broadcast run), the serial was picked up for syndicated reruns in various markets in the U.S. Thus, it was the first soap opera to be marketed in reruns (not Dark Shadows, as has often been touted). A full list of re-broadcasts has yet to be documented, but a number of broadcasters are known. In June 1970, Seattle’s station KIRO-TVKIRO-TV
KIRO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS affiliate television station in Seattle, Washington. It broadcasts on digital channel 39. The station's offices and broadcasting center are located near Seattle Center in Belltown, and its transmitter is located on Queen Anne Hill...
began late-night airings of the show in conjunction with its popular local series Nightmare Theatre. Los Angeles’ KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
ran the series in syndication from September 28, 1970 to September 3, 1971. Later, WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV, channel 44, is an owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language Telemundo network, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This station is owned by NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of Telemundo...
in Chicago carried it in 1976. In 1977, Canadian re-broadcasts were seen on Lethbridge, Alberta’s CJOC-TV
CISA-TV
CISA-DT is a Canadian television station serving Lethbridge, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is affiliated to their Global Television Network. It is branded as Global Lethbridge and transmits on channel 7 and cable channel 5 in Lethbridge...
and Winnipeg’s CKND-TV
CKND-TV
CKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
. 1978 saw the series airing on Albuquerque, New Mexico’s UHF channel 23 KMXN
KNAT-TV
KNAT-TV is a religious television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, broadcasting locally on digital channel 24 as an owned and operated station of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Founded October 17, 1975, the station is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network...
, a Spanish language station. (In fact, Strange Paradise was dubbed into Spanish early in its production, and has been presented in many portions of Central and South America.) Toronto's CITY-TV
CITY-TV
CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...
later resurrected the series sporadically in the 1980s and '90s. It also wound up on Milwaukee's low-power TV outlet W08BY
WMKE-CA
WMKE-CA is the America One affiliate for Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the United States. It is owned by KM Communications, and broadcasts on VHF channel 7. The station's studios are located at 3974 South 27th St...
in 1988, where it aired twice a day. Back in the U.S., Martinsburg, West Virginia's station WWPX-TV treated its viewership to the series in 1992 and 1993. Also in 1993, Strange Paradise found new life in the home video market, when a company named Centaur Distribution began issuing the series on video cassette. Eventually, 21 volumes were released on vhs, encompassing the first 105 installments of the series, before the project folded. Since that time, the rights to Strange Paradise have been purchased by a group called Nihali Entertainment but, to date, no DVD release of the series has been forthcoming. However the show has remained available for broadcast in syndication since its premier in 1969, most recently surfacing on Canada’s Drive-In Classics
Drive-In Classics
Sundance Channel is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. Sundance Channel airs programming focused on independent films, documentaries, music-series', dramas and more.-As Drive-In Classics:...
just in time for the series’ 35th anniversary north of the border. It aired on Drive-In Classics from October 4, 2004 to October 1, 2007.
Influences on other projects
Strange Paradise has had at least a small life outside of its 195 serialized episodes. Between December 1969 and August 1970, publisher Paperback Library issued three TV tie-in novels authored by popular gothic romance writer Dorothy Daniels. Their titles were Strange Paradise; Island of Evil and Raxl, Voodoo Priestess.Between 1974 and 1980, Ian Martin contributed numerous scripts to Himan Brown’s CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater
CBS Radio Mystery Theater was a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS affiliates from 1974 to 1982....
, and many of these radio plays contained elements recognizably taken directly from his earlier writings on Strange Paradise. Chief among these efforts were his August 7, 1975, script To Die Is Forever (which is a virtual re-telling of the Maljardin story), Here Goes the Bride (February 4, 1974) and The Spectral Bride (September 26, 1974). Around 1979, Martin began adapting some of his CBS Radio Mystery Theater scripts to novel form for publisher Popular Library, and one of the scripts chosen for this treatment was Here Goes the Bride. The novel saw publication in 1980 under the title Shadow over Seventh Heaven, credited to Martin's pseudonym Joen Arliss. Unforunately, during the adaptation process he excised many of the elements which linked his original script with Strange Paradise. However, his earlier Joen Arliss novel Nightmare's Nest does display a few of Martin's Strange Paradise influences.
The birth of the internet has given rise to new outlets of influence for Strange Paradise. Online, a Yahoo Group has been founded, enabling fans of the series to share thoughts and messages. Likewise, individual fans have established websites to document the series and promote its fandom.
Production notes
An early working title for the production was The Garden of Evil (a reference to the English translation of Maljardin, the name of the island upon which the series is set).Strange Paradise was marketed to potential broadcasters via the pilot episode shot in May 1969 and an accompanying pitch reel of related scenes, referred to by Krantz Films’ staff as "the Vignettes". A few actors and characters were dropped or altered after the filming of these initial promotional pieces. Actor Paul Harding, who played the role of Dan Forrest in the pilot, declined to continue with the series and was replaced by Jon Granik. Likewise, the part of Jacques Eloi des Mondes’ wife Huaco was originated by actress Patricia Collins, but she did not join the series’ regular cast. Perhaps most significantly, actress Nonnie Griffin portrayed the pilot’s Beryl Forbes, a character slated to be the Conjure Woman (a role important to the series). However, Ms. Griffin declined to participate in the continuing series, and her character was dropped entirely. Instead, the role of the Conjure Woman fell to Vangie Abbott, as portrayed by actress Angela Roland.
Krantz Films’ decision to restructure the series’ production staff came so abruptly in the show’s ninth week that the storyline in progress had to be re-written practically on the fly. Ian Martin’s story was scuttled so quickly that there was no time to change the promotional blurbs which were sent out some weeks in advance to newspapers and local TV schedule listings. As a result, around November–December 1969 a number of U.S. publications carried daily descriptions of Ian Martin episodes which were never actually produced.
Between October 2001 and January 2002, the Nepean Museum
Nepean Museum
The Nepean Museum, located at 16 Rowley Avenue, Nepean, Ontario, Canada, is a museum that preserves and makes accessible evidence of the history of Nepean. Artifacts related to Nepean, from its beginnings to the 20th century, are restored and displayed in the museum galleries and grounds...
near Ottawa, presented an exhibit celebrating the history of CJOH-TV. Among the items displayed were props and costumes from Strange Paradise, including cast photos, set designs, shooting scripts and the original conjure doll.
External links
- Strange Paradise at TV.com
- Strange Paradise at The Great Canadian Guide to the Movies & TV
- Strange Paradise at Queen’s Film & Media
- strangeparadise.net, a Strange Paradise fan site
- maljardin.com, a Strange Paradise fan site
- Strange Paradise Yahoo Group