Generations (TV series)

From Free net encyclopedia

(Redirected from Generations (soap opera))

Generations was a soap opera which aired on NBC from March 27, 1989 to January 25, 1991.

It was nominated for awards by three different organizations, but never won. This show was groundbreaking in that it was the first soap opera to have an African-American family on the show from its inception. The show had occupied the timeslot Search for Tomorrow had vacated in 1986. The ratings were very low, and the show was canceled after just twenty-two months. However, the show still retains a loyal fan following to this day.

The show found another life in syndication on the BET network, an American cable channel that specialized in black programming. The show ran on that channel until 1993.

[edit]

Synopsis

The link between the Marshall and the Whitmore families extends back three generations to when Vivian Potter (Lynn Hamilton) and her young daughter Ruth (Joan Pringle) lived in the Whitmore mansion. Vivian worked as housekeeper and nanny for Rebecca Whitmore (Pat Crowley) and her daughter, Laura (Gail Ramsey).

Committed to rising above her humble beginnings, Ruth grows into a savvy and enterprising woman. Her strength and determination to improve her position in life is fueled by her husband Henry Marshall (Taurean Blacque). With the help of their longtime friend, Rebecca Whitmore, an attorney, Henry was able to finance his own business, Marshall's Ice Cream. With five stores, he now provides a prosperous life for his family and Vivian, who lives with them. Their three children are Chantal (Sharon Brown), a lawyer; Jacquelyn Marshall Rhymes, a homemaker and mother; and Adam Marshall (Kristoff St. John), a college student.

Rebecca Whitmore, who was an heiress to her father's fortune, suffered an enormous financial and emotional setback when her ex-husband, Peter, squandered her inheritance without her knowledge. As a divorced mother forced to make it on her own, she earned a law degree and eventually a partnership with a prestigious law firm. Her daughter Laura has been married many years to a successful ad-vertising executive, Andrew McCallum (Trevor Masset), and has three children, the oldest being Monique (Nancy Sorel), a college student. Rebecca's other children are J.D. Whitmore, a once-successful rock star who is struggling to make a comeback, and Stephanie (Kelly Rutherford), nicknamed Sam, also a college student.

[edit]