In an industry where the phrase "industry giant" is used as commonly as balloons at political conventions, Aaron Spelling truly deserved that description.
In fact, considering how much of the Toobworld landscape was created and shaped by Aaron Spelling, I might be tempted to call him a god of the TV Universe... if I wasn't afraid of the consequences.
It's almost hard to believe that he never produced a science fiction series, although the TV movie "The Last Child" could be considered his contribution to the genre. ('The Kindred: The Embraced', "Crowhaven Farm" and "Satan's School For Girls" are his contributions to the sub-genre of horror.)
But primetime soaps, family dramas, medical shows, cop shows, Westerns, and even a sitcom ('At Ease') all bore the Spelling stamp over the years.
It's always easy and popular to throw the brickbats at the high and the mighty. With many of his productions, the targets became easier as the years passed and we saw how ridiculous and camp some of the plotlines and characters were in those shows. But there's no denying how popular they were in their time, giving pop culture some of its enduring touchstones.
Sure there have been people in real life who have been confined to "plastic bubbles" because they needed a sterile environment in which to survive. But would there have been the Jake Gyllenhaal movie and a popular guest character on 'Seinfeld' had there not been the TV movie with John Travolta to inspire them?
Use the phrase "Donna Martin Graduates!" and people will know what the reference is.
And then there's his invaluable contributions to "Jiggle TV", especially those fleeting few seconds from the 'Charlie's Angels' episode "Angels In Chains".
Thank you, sir..
I see Aaron Spelling as a combination of P.T. Barnum, for giving the people what they wanted, and Isaac Asimov, for his incredible output.
It's such a massive list of credits, that I've had to break it down into several posts. The others will follow tomorrow when I have more time.....
"All that remains is recognition of a man."