Embedded Files
With Executive Producer Bill Blinn leaving "Fame" at the end of Season 3, there were big changes, behind the scenes to the show for the 1984 to 1985 Season. By the time Season 4 was in production the show had become popular with American audiences. MGM felt they could increase audiences further by taking the show in a more comedic direction. So they set about finding new producers who could achieve this. Husband and wife team Donald Reiker and Patricia Jones, who's previous background was entirely working on comedy shows were bought in as executives to take the show in it's new direction.
As well as the changes behind the camera there were changes on screen too and the size of the cast was increased. Nia Peeples, Jesse Borrego and Janet Jackson were brought on to the show and Ann Nelson was given cast member status, from the third episode. Nia and Jesse flourished in their roles of Nicole Chapman and Jesse Velasquez, however Janet was struggling. She hadn't had to audition for the show and was brought in by Ken Ehrlich after he negotiated with Janet's father Joseph Jackson. Janet hadn't wanted to do the show and has stated that she hated her time there. She also had personal problems with her husband at the time James Debarge which meant she was frequently late on set. A number of scripts were changed to remove her character Cleo Hewitt from the show and very quickly Janet's role on the show was reduced. Also a new semi regular guest star of Sam Slovick playing Cassidy was introduced. Although it was so felt that the character didn't really work on the show and he was quickly written out.
The new producers brought in new writers, most notably Ira Steven Behr. Behr, Reiker and Jones set about writing the first three episodes of the season. Initially there was resistance to the more lighter feel scripts from many of the cast including Ken Swofford, Debbie Allen, Carol Mayo Jenkins and Valerie Landsburg, who all thought the scripts lacked the dramatic edge of previous seasons. The cast took their objections to the producers and in an attempt to try to appease the cast some of the scripts were then changed as a compromise and harder hitting story lines like teen pregnancy (Blizzard), juvenile crime (The Ballad Of Ray Claxton) and nuclear disarmament (Tomorrow's Children) were developed. This seemed to bridge the gap between the old and the new and the series remained popular.
Lee Curreri and Phoebe Yardon Lewis were dropped from the cast without any explanation. Lee explains his contract was simply not renewed as presumably it was felt his character Bruno no longer fitted in to the show.
For viewers it was very frustrating that such a popular and important character could be dropped from the show without even mentioning where he'd gone. Morgan Stevens guest starred in the first episode of the new season but after that his character of David Reardon also disappeared without any further mention. Cynthia Gibb appeared in the first 2 episodes of the season and then was missing from the next six episodes as she was busy filming the feature film "Youngblood" with Rob Lowe. Michael Delorenzo had also left the show and again there was no mention of what had happened to his character of Michael.
Under the new producers the show did have a lighter feel and more musical numbers and often fantasy numbers were introduced to keep the show upbeat. Personally, I think the changes worked well and there was a new energy on the show. To me some of the heavier story lines from the previous two seasons didn't fit well in to the shows format. Where stories of high school crushes, relationships and friends competing for the same role did work well in a school environment.
Season 4 is the longest season with 23 normal episodes and the 2 concert specials. Filming began in the summer of 1984 with the whole cast flying to New York for location shooting and to perform the concert specials at Jones Beach. These would be the last televised concert the cast would perform. Although they were popular and far cheaper to produce than a normal scripted episodes they were deemed to have little worth in syndication.
Debbie Allen would continue to develop her behind the scenes talents by not only directing a number of episodes but also had the credit of Co Producer for this season.
The initial episodes included a lot of location filming in New York which also gave the episodes a fresh look after what I felt was a very claustrophobic year in season 3. There seemed to be a greater variety of music too and each episode would have three or four story lines going on which gave the show a much faster pace.
Erica Gimpel returned to the show as a guest star for one episode in the fan favourite "Coco Returns". However the focus of the show became the main cast and fewer guest stars were employed to carry the show, with the exception of Anthony Newley who was given a two episode guest starring role.
Valerie Landsburg also took the reigns for directing an episode, using her married name of McVay, towards the end of the season titled "Reflections" which dealt with Holly's anorexia.
The Season 4 Opening Credits:
Additional Information:
Trivia - Season 4 Awards
Trivia - Extract From Michael Hoey's Inside Fame Book
Trivia - Jesse Borrego Favourite Fame Memory
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