Models, Inc.

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Models, Inc. was a short-lived primetime soap opera aired by FOX Television. It was a spinoff from the successful hit Melrose Place which itself was a spinoff from Beverly Hills, 90210. The show aired from June 1994 to March 1995, and was produced by Aaron Spelling.

[edit] Background

The show revolved around a modeling agency, Models Inc. in Los Angeles run by Hillary Michaels (Linda Gray), the mother of Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear's character from Melrose Place).

[edit] Character Profiles

Hillary Michaels (Linda Gray)

• Hillary Michaels is the founder and owner of the posh L.A. modeling agency, Models Inc., and also the mother of David Michaels, Vice-President of Models Inc. and Amanda Woodward (Heather Locklear's Melrose Place character). Hillary Michaels was introduced on Melrose Place.

David Michaels (Brian Gaskill)

• David is the son of Hillary Michaels and the Vice-President of Models Inc. He had an on-and-off again relationship with Julie Dante, one of the models at the agency. He came to like a newcomer to the agency, Sarah Owens, but that relationship fizzled. David left L.A. for Paris after a heated argument with Hillary.

Sarah Owens (Cassidy Rae)

• Sarah Owens came to L.A. from the Midwest to fulfill her dream of being a model. When she arrived at Models Inc., Hillary quickly took her under her wing and let Sarah move into the beach house where the top models of the agency lived. Sarah quickly became enemies with housemate Julie Dante, who was jealous of Sarah's close relationship with Julie's ex, David. Sarah was an innocent, naive model who ended up on the wrong side of the tracks with alcohol and drugs, but by the end of the series, she seemed to be working her way back to normal. The character of Sarah Owens was introduced on Melrose Place with Hillary Michaels.

Julie Dante (Kylie Travis)

• Julie Dante is an Australian-born model who came from the wrong side of the tracks, with an alcoholic mother and an abusive father. She was one of the world's most popular supermodels, who always seemed to cause trouble. She was often known for her public drunkenness and being taken advantage of by many photographers, however, Julie always had the last laugh. Her relationship with Sarah was fraught with jealously at first, but Julie's resentment of her died down later in the series.

Teri Spencer (Stephanie Romanov)

• Teri was one of the world's most famous supermodels. She was sister of the famous Carrie Spencer, a model that Hillary took in as a teenager. Teri followed in her older sisters footsteps which led to her shadowing her sister's career. Teri lived in the beach house and was involved with photographer Brian Peterson. She left Models Inc. in a public fight with Hillary and on the evening of her good bye party from the agency, she was thrown off the balcony of the highrise office building causing a "Who Killed Teri Spencer?" murder mystery.

Monique Duran (Stephanie Romanov)

• Monique came to Hillary and to Models Inc. for representation shortly after the murder of Teri Spencer was revealed, signalling the beginning of "Phase 2" for Models Inc. It was a shock to everyone, especially Teri's sister Carrie, that Monique was a dead ringer for Teri. Because of this, Carrie deeply resented her presence at first, but they later became friends. She ended up in a relationship with club owner Adam Louder and was a victim of his ex-wife, Grayson Louder.

Carrie Spencer (Carrie-Anne Moss)

• Carrie Spencer was a veteran at Models Inc., starting her career at the tender age of 17 when Hillary took her in. Carrie was once a top supermodel, but as she grew older and as her sister Teri moved in, her career went downhill. It was revealed early on that she had a child at age 17, but had always thought he was dead until Teri revealed he was alive and she had kept it a secret from her for years. Teri died the night she told Carrie and Carrie went downhill in a world of depression and prostitution. She was sold into sexual slavery by Grayson in the series finale, but according to rumors of production notes for a proposed second season, she was later rescued.

Brian Peterson (Cameron Daddo)

• Brian was a photographer who was dating supermodel Teri Spencer. He later became involved with Cynthia and the two began a relationship, which was plagued by Cynthia's obsessive ex-boyfriend, who later raped her.

Eric Dearborn (David Goldsmith)

• Eric was the boyfriend of Linda Holden. He had a shady past and was abusive to Linda. But even after she finally broke up with him, he found that he still genuinely cared about her. Eric was always desperate for a singing career.

Linda Holden (Teresa Hill)

• Linda was a model who had a past of drugs, alcohol and appearing in adult movies. She was involved first with Eric Dearborn, who blackmailed her with that secret from her past, and then later with millionaire, Chris White.

Cynthia Nichols (Garcelle Beauvais)

• Cynthia came to Models Inc. wanting to be a successful model. She was a victim of bulemia and a violent rape at the hands of her obsessive ex-boyfriend, whom she shot and killed in self-defense when he had kidnapped her. She was involved with photographer Brian Peterson during that time.

Stephanie Smith (Heather Medway)

• Stephanie was the receptionist at Models Inc who took a liking to Brian Peterson. She had always been ignored and didn't like how Brian was treated by his girlfriend Teri Spencer, so she pushed her off the balcony. She also tried to kill Sarah and was arrested for both crimes.

Adam Louder (James Wilder)

• Adam was a nightclub owner who fell in love with Monique. They had a great relationship until his wife, Grayson, came back from the dead to cause havoc.

Grayson Louder (Emma Samms) (Phase 2)

• Grayson came back to L.A. after everyone thought she was dead to reclaim the love of her husband, Adam. He, however, was in love with Monique. Grayson had lied for years that she and Adam shared a son, Daniel. Determined to destroy Monique's happiness with Adam, Grayson bought half of Models Inc. from Hillary and brought in new "models" from her old job as a madam. She got Carrie into prostitution and plotted to kill Monique at her wedding to Adam. However in the alternate ending, it was revealed that Grayson had been slain accidentally by the hitman she had hired to kill Monique at her wedding to Adam.

Craig Bodi (Don Michael Paul)

• Craig was the novelist who wrote an expose about the models of Models Inc called "Skin Deep" that caused quite the controversy in the agency and the beach house. He later fell in love with Julie.

[edit] Ratings

In spite of the presence of Gray and other names such as Emma Samms, as well as a devoted fan following, the show received poor ratings. Its combination of sexy, young female leads sashaying their way down the cat-walk, and a series of slightly outlandish storylines, made the show a stylish, bitchy, and wicked guilty pleasure. It also managed to move away from its Melrose Place roots, which creatively made the show unique. Despite all the ingredients for success, the show was a disappointing ratings failure and was cancelled in favor of Party of Five.

[edit] DVD Release

Although there are no plans for a DVD release of the series, many devoted fans have started online petitions to have the show released commercially.

[edit] Alternate Ending

The last episode of the series ended with a cliffhanger with a freezeframe, "To Be Continued..." leaving stories open. Years later, E! Entertainment aired the entire series and aired an alternate ending which tied up loose ends.

In the alternate ending Grayson was shot and killed. About a week before the season finale was to air, Emma Samms signed a three year contract with the show. They didn't have enough time to reshoot the ending so they opted for a "To be continued..." cliffhanger instead.