Wild Palms 

A multi-national corporation attempts to take over America while small pockets of resistance hold out against rampant technology.

Creator:

Bruce Wagner

Stars:

Jim Belushi, Dana Delany, Robert Loggia

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jim Belushi	...	Harry Wyckoff 5 episodes, 1993
Dana Delany	...	Grace Wyckoff 5 episodes, 1993
Robert Loggia	...	Sen. Anton Kreutzer 5 episodes, 1993
Kim Cattrall	...	Paige Katz 5 episodes, 1993
Angie Dickinson	...	Josie Ito 5 episodes, 1993
Ernie Hudson	...	Tommy Lazlo 5 episodes, 1993
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Tabba Schwartzkopf 5 episodes, 1993
Nick Mancuso	...	Tully Woiwode 5 episodes, 1993
David Warner	...	Eli Levitt 5 episodes, 1993
Ben Savage	...	Coty Wyckoff 5 episodes, 1993
Bob Gunton	...	Dr. Tobias Schenkl 5 episodes, 1993
Aaron Michael Metchik	...	Peter 5 episodes, 1993
Robert Morse	...	Chap Starfall 3 episodes, 1993
Brad Dourif	...	Chickie Levitt 3 episodes, 1993
Charles Rocket	...	Stitch 3 episodes, 1993
François Chau	...	Hiro 3 episodes, 1993
Beata Poźniak	...	Tambor 3 episodes, 1993
Charles Hallahan	...	Gavin Whitehope 2 episodes, 1993
Eugene Lee	...	Lt. Bob Grindrod 2 episodes, 1993
Rondi Reed	...	Eileen Whitehope 2 episodes, 1993

Storyline

LA in the near future, Harry Wykoff accepts a job as presidents of a gigantic TV company. Het is confronted with a total new technology called "The New Reality" where three-dimensional TV animated pictures are projected in living rooms all around the world. Harry launches to the top of the company with his career but once there he is caught in a web of intrigues, betrayal and murder. A game of life and death begins...

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Plot Keywords:

apocalypse | family relationships | murder | corporation | religious overtones | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wild Palms

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Greengrass Productions, Ixtlan

Technical Specs

Runtime:

300 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Senator Anton Kreutzer (Robert Loggia) and his religion New Realism are based on L. Ron Hubbard and The Church of Scientology.

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Goofs

The rear-view mirror in Harry's corvette appears and disappears from scene to scene.

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Quotes

Josie Ito: Gracious me! You've got quite a mouth on you! Take care someone doesn't take a needle and *sew* it shut.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Bart Sells His Soul (1995)

User Reviews

'What a strange world. So dramatic, so predatory.' - 'We're like two old generals.'

It's a pity it wasn't released 5 years earlier: the mood created by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Phenomenon, Cool Runnings) is so eighties-like, the great Michael Mann (L.A. Takedown, Manhunter, The Insider) must like it, if only visually: it's very clean and cool. Except Mann usually adds some really excessive displayals of power with lots of shooting (Miami Vice) and lots of music. Wild Palms is far more subtle. The great score was created by legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence). The chosen hit songs (Where the streets have no name, Hello I must be going) just add slightly to the mood and you really have to pay attention to the songtexts. And notice the subtle fashion statements, like the sober collars? There are 5 episodes directed by 4 directors, one of which is Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, Point Break, Strange Days): Strange Days (1995) is a nice movie about more or less the same subject but without the aesthetics and the good acting. James Belushi is great, Robert Loggia and Angie Dickinson must be the devil themselves.

Wild Palms may feel like 'Dynasty - the play - set in the future' about families in multimedia instead of oil. The story IS about media monopolies and law-suits (MS anyone? - Church Windows): there seems to be no credible independent justice system anymore in this future. There are family intrigues, but definitely never really feels like a soap opera. However, one of the flaws of Wild Palms is that you can see that it is made for tv because you can see where the commercials are supposed to be. Wild Palms is quite lengthy, but I just couldn't wait for the next episode to be broadcasted seven days later. I wouldn't recommend trying to watch all episodes at once, because the pace is rather low. Cut it down to 180 minutes and you can show it in a theater (although Warhol's 'Empire' wasn't cut down a minute...). Definitely more interesting than 'JFK' and 'Nixon' together.

9/10