While this well written daytime soap did not make it to two years on the air, it was certainly a much better soap than the two NBC shows which followed it, "Sunset Beach" and "Passions". "Generations" made the attempt to move daytime into the modern age by having a core black family, ultimately writing out most of the white characters who had shared the initial spotlight with. The Marshall family had struggled to build up a successful ice cream business, and in the opening weeks, sought to purchase the house of the deceased Hugh Gardner, a miserly old man who was estranged from his soap opera actress daughter. The Marshalls were associated with Hugh, his daughter Jessica and the upper middle class Whitmore family, although there was an unexplained rivalry between Ruth Marshall (Joan Pringle) and Laura McCallum (Gail Rae Carlson), the daughter of attorney Rebecca Whitmore (originally Patricia Crowley, oddly recast with Dorothy Lyman during the show's last weeks), who employed Ruth's mother, Vivian (the marvelous Lynn Hamilton) as her housekeeper.
The show dealt with racial issues, had odd comedy surrounding Hugh Gardner's crazy sister Mary (Minna Kolb), and ended on a cliff hanger with Ruth's husband, Henry Marshall ("Days of Our Lives'" James Reynolds) having a heart attack after discovering Ruth kissing Rebecca Whitmore's ex-husband, Peter Whitmore (soap vet Ron Harper). While several popular "All My Children" stars (Lyman, Linda Gibboney, Debbie Morgan and Robert Gentry) had major parts on the show, it wasn't enough to bring over "AMC" fans, although the show was praised for the storyline of the Marshalls moving into the Gardner mansion and facing objections from the racist Charles Mullins who had a black mistress. Soap vet Marla Adams gave a marvelous performance as his glamorous wife Helen, afraid to stand up to him over his prejudices and when she did, brutally beaten for daring to defy him. "Generations" did end up re- run on BET, but other than the critical praise for some of its controversial and unique story lines, did not get the attention and confidence from NBC that it deserved, making it one of daytime's biggest "missed opportunities".
The show dealt with racial issues, had odd comedy surrounding Hugh Gardner's crazy sister Mary (Minna Kolb), and ended on a cliff hanger with Ruth's husband, Henry Marshall ("Days of Our Lives'" James Reynolds) having a heart attack after discovering Ruth kissing Rebecca Whitmore's ex-husband, Peter Whitmore (soap vet Ron Harper). While several popular "All My Children" stars (Lyman, Linda Gibboney, Debbie Morgan and Robert Gentry) had major parts on the show, it wasn't enough to bring over "AMC" fans, although the show was praised for the storyline of the Marshalls moving into the Gardner mansion and facing objections from the racist Charles Mullins who had a black mistress. Soap vet Marla Adams gave a marvelous performance as his glamorous wife Helen, afraid to stand up to him over his prejudices and when she did, brutally beaten for daring to defy him. "Generations" did end up re- run on BET, but other than the critical praise for some of its controversial and unique story lines, did not get the attention and confidence from NBC that it deserved, making it one of daytime's biggest "missed opportunities".