Hotel (American TV series)


Hotel is an American primetime soap opera series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983, to May 5, 1988, in the timeslot following Dynasty.
Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Establishing shots of the hotel were filmed in front of the Fairmont San Francisco atop the Nob Hill neighborhood. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests, as well as the personal and professional lives of the hotel staff.
The distribution rights to the series were originally owned by Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, until 2006 when CBS Paramount Network Television bought the television libraries and properties of Spelling Entertainment Inc. from Paramount Pictures Domestic Distribution and Viacom Enterprises.

Premise

Rich aristocrat Victoria Cabot runs the St. Gregory Hotel, assisted by general manager Peter McDermott and his staff. McDermott and assistant general manager Christine Francis became romantically involved. Halfway through the series Cabot died, leaving McDermott her share of the St. Gregory Hotel. When McDermott inherited half of the St. Gregory, he ran the hotel and promoted Francis to general manager.
Other staff members included: the guest relations director Mark Danning ; ex-conman now head of hotel security, Billy Griffin ; reception manager Julie Gillette ; young couple Dave and Megan Kendall, a bellhop and a desk clerk, respectively; and Harry the bartender. Characters Eric Lloyd ; Cheryl Dolan and Ryan Thomas were added to the cast during its final season.
Cast members Brolin, Sellecca, Belafonte and Cook appeared in every episode of the series. In later years, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., made numerous guest appearances as an opponent of Victoria Cabot and Peter McDermott who plants his daughter, played by Michelle Phillips, in the hotel staff as the concierge.
Bette Davis appeared in the pilot episode as hotel owner Laura Trent, and publicity for the series indicated that Davis was to be a regular on the program. However, the onset of ill health forced Davis to withdraw from the series and Anne Baxter, who had played her nemesis in the 1950 film All About Eve, was brought in as Victoria Cabot, Mrs. Trent's sister-in-law. When Davis's health improved it was intended to bring her back; however, with Baxter on board fulfilling the series matriarchal role it was decided to make Davis' character an offscreen character, who though mentioned, was never seen. Ironically, Davis would outlive Baxter by four years and the series itself by over a year.
Similar to Spelling's other ABC show, The Love Boat, episodes of Hotel relied heavily on the appearance of recognizable guest stars. However, unlike The Love Boat's comedic story lines, Hotel generally broached more serious and controversial subject matter, such as abortion, infidelity, rape, suicide, AIDS, homophobia, spousal abuse, and child molestation.

Guest stars

Pilot (1983)

Season 1 (1983–84)

Season 2 (1984–85)

Season 3 (1985–86)

Season 4 (1986–87)

Season 5 (1987–88)

Soundtrack

The theme music used for the opening titles was composed by Henry Mancini, who composed famous songs such as "Moon River", "Charade" and "Days of Wine and Roses".

Home media

On July 21, 2009, Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD released Season 1 of Arthur Hailey's Hotel on DVD in Region 1. The episodes are uncut, with most of them clocking in at over 48 minutes, and some coming in at just a shade under that.
On October 20, 2015, Visual Entertainment released Hotel – The Complete Collection on DVD in Region 1 for the first time in a 29-disc box set.
DVD NameEp #Release Date
The First Season22July 21, 2009

On December 6, 2016, VEI re-released the complete series in a condensed, 20-disc edition. The discs were all compiled in a single, jumbo DVD case. The box claims the discs to be Region 1 protected but actually are region-free.

Remake

In 2003, Aaron Spelling tried to remake the show, twenty years after the original's premiere. The pilot, which starred Michael Jai White and Christina Vidal, was shot for UPN, who passed on the show.