Passions, the afternoon soap opera about witches, weirdos and various hotties in a small New England town, will finally end its run this Friday. (Leading everyone to ask, What, that was still on the air?) The series, which had been picked up by DirecTV after NBC canceled it last year, had actually ceased production in the spring, but there were still several months' worth of episodes that had yet to be shown.
The wacky melodrama starred Juliet Mills as a witch named Tabitha (yes, the Bewitched shout-outs were intentional), and various forms of magic were constantly influencing soapy plot lines involving love triangles, crime and sex among exceptionally fit and attractive people. There was also an unusual amount of humor -- the stories frequently parodied various forms of pop culture, and characters often made self-referential comments about the show itself.
Given its intrinsic weirdness, it's no surprise that Passions never found a large enough afternoon audience. Still, for a soap opera, it was actually pretty creative. If you're a curious DirecTV subscriber, you can still catch the final episodes, during which an erupting volcano (no, not of passion -- a real one) somehow threatens to destroy the town of Harmony. Or just watch the following clip, in which aspiring witch Kay causes the people around her to lose their heads, and you'll see exactly what we're talking about.
Image: TV Guide
Previously:
Who's That Soap-Opera Guest Star?