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Generations
Format	Soap opera
Created by	Sally Sussman Morina
Starring	Lynn Hamilton Vivica A. Fox Kristoff St. John Kelly Rutherford Robert Torti Patricia Crowley James Reynolds Dorothy Lyman
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	470
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	March 27, 1989 – January 25, 1991

Generations is a soap opera which aired on NBC from March 27, 1989 to January 25, 1991.

It was nominated for awards by three different organizations, but never won. This show was groundbreaking in that it was the first soap opera to have an African-American family on the show from its inception. The show had occupied the timeslot Search for Tomorrow had vacated in 1986. The ratings were very low, and the show was canceled after just twenty-two months and 470 episodes. However, the show still retains a loyal fan following to this day. The last episode, which featured an appearance by Brandon Tartikoff, was not shown in some markets due to coverage of the Persian Gulf War, which had begun days earlier.

The show found another life in syndication on the BET network, an American cable channel that specialized in black programming. The show ran on that channel until 1993.

The Daytime Emmy-nominated opening titles consisted of different scenarios across the generations. The first photos shown in the sequence are of a rich white family in the Gilded Age and black sharecroppers after Reconstruction, a nod to the supposed ancestors of the white and black families that Generations showed in the modern age. Later pictures in the sequence, both shown in sepia tones and in color, illustrate popular culture and American history throughout the 20th century, with the final pictures focusing on the actual characters of the series themselves.

Some of the clips in popular culture and American history include:

• A white woman working on the home front for the war effort.
• A group of black people, fashionably dressed, enjoying a night out on the town in the 1940s.
• A black child greeting her father with a kiss, just home from war.
• A black family John F. Kennedy on the television.
• Two white teenagers, in love, feeding each other a banana split.
• Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch.
• Richard Nixon getting his shoes shined.
• The Beatles from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
• Both white and black children being bussed to school.
• Neil Armstrong being the first man on the moon.
• Martin Luther King during one of his speeches.
• The photograph Burst of Joy.
• Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Mikhail Gorbachev

The link between the Marshall and the Whitmore families extends back three generations to when Vivian Potter (Lynn Hamilton) and her young daughter Ruth (Joan Pringle) lived in the Whitmore mansion. Vivian worked as housekeeper and nanny for Rebecca Whitmore (Patricia Crowley, Dorothy Lyman) and her daughter, Laura (Gail Ramsey).

Committed to rising above her humble beginnings, Ruth grows into a savvy and enterprising woman. Her strength and determination to improve her position in life is fueled by her husband Henry Marshall (Taurean Blacque, James Reynolds). With the help of their longtime friend, Rebecca Whitmore, an attorney, Henry was able to finance his own business, Marshall's Ice Cream. With five stores, he now provides a prosperous life for his family and Vivian, who lives with them. Their three children are Chantal (Sharon Brown, Debbi Morgan), a lawyer; Jacquelyn Marshall Rhymes, a homemaker and mother; and Adam Marshall (Kristoff St. John), a college student.

Rebecca Whitmore, who was an heiress to her father's fortune, suffered an enormous financial and emotional setback when her ex-husband, Peter (Ron Harper), squandered her inheritance without her knowledge. As a divorced mother forced to make it on her own, she earned a law degree and eventually a partnership with a prestigious law firm. Her daughter Laura has been married many years to a successful ad-vertising executive, Trevor McCallum (Andrew Masset), and has three children, the oldest being Monique (Nancy Sorel), a college student. Rebecca's other children are J.D. Whitmore (Gerard Prendergast), a once-successful rock star who is struggling to make a comeback, and Stephanie (Kelly Rutherford), nicknamed Sam, also a college student.

• Vivica A. Fox (Maya Reubens)
• Barbara Rhoades / Linda Gibboney (Jessica Gardner Donnelly)
• George Deloy (Rob Donnelly)
• Mina Kolb (Mary Gardner)
• Lynn Hamilton (Vivian Potter)
• Joan Pringle (Ruth Marshall)
• Jon Lindstrom (Paul Jarre)
• Sharon Brown / Debbi Morgan (Chantal Marshall)
• Taurean Blacque / James Reynolds (Henry Marshall)
• George Shannon / Robert A. Gentry (Jordan Hale)
• Richard Roundtree (Daniel Reubens)
• Kelly Rutherford (Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore)
• Anthony Addabbo (Jason Craig)
• Gail Ramsey (Laura McCallum)
• Andrew Masset (Trevor McCallum)
• Nancy Sorel (Monique McCallum Craig)
• Patricia Crowley / Dorothy Lyman (Rebecca Whitmore)
• Ron Harper (Peter Whitmore)
• Gerard Prendergast (J.D. Whitmore)
• Rick Fitts (Martin Jackson)
• Jonelle Allen (Doreen Jackson)
• Kristoff St. John (Adam Marshall)
• Lela Rochon (Brandy)
• Randy Brooks (Eric Royal)
• Patricia Tallman / Stacey Nelkin (Christy Russell)
• Robert Torti (Lt. Kyle Masters)
• Amy Yasbeck (Carla)

Generations was anchored at the bottom of the ratings chart throughout its run. However, like many short-lived and/or lower-rated soaps, it has retained something of a "cult" following even long after its cancellation.

• IMDb article