Hollywood Flashback: NBC’s Expensive ‘Super Train’ Takes a Short Ride

Hollywood Flashback: NBC’s Expensive ‘Super Train’ Takes a Short Ride

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Trains have a history of Hollywood debauchery dating back to 19th century silent film footage of a vehicle that was so realistic it supposedly had audiences running in fear. But one project that failed to captivate viewers as expected was the NBC drama series. super train.

Launched in February 1979 with stars Edward Andrews and Robert Alda, the show revolved around a luxurious nuclear-powered train and followed in the popular footsteps of ABC. love boat Focusing on the passengers’ personal lives, which included murder, kidnapping, mystery and romance, during the voyage. Rising costs for luxury train sets prompted the network to spend at least $7 million ($28.6 million today) on the pilot, making it the most expensive series in the show’s history.

Unfortunately, critical reception was also mixed. the hollywood reporterOne review called the show “routine melodrama” while praising “a fabulous imaginative engine serving the stage”.

Despite the lavish production, “Supertrain” was an “audience leader”, THR said on April 13, 1979.

the hollywood reporter

After three episodes, lackluster ratings prompted the network to restructure the creative team and reduce its extensive roster of 10 series regulars (excluding rotating guest stars) to five. One of the remaining performers was Harrison Page, who remembers not only the actors’ painful performances, but also the unexpected plot twists.

“We lost a lot of the original cast because they started over and I wasn’t a caretaker anymore,” he says. THR About your character’s profession. “I became a PR guy and dressed differently. But I felt very lucky to be chosen to stay.”

Although the show was canceled after nine episodes, the experience remains a positive one for Paige, a lifelong train fanatic who has starred in shows like Sledgehammer!, a quantum leap and, more recently, best things. He says, “Being on a show on the train was the highlight of the line.”

This story first appeared in the August 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

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