Strange Paradise

Lore & Background

The series' protagonist is billionaire Jean Paul Desmond, who refuses to accept his wife Erica's death on the remote Caribbean island of Maljardin and strikes a bargain with his sinister ancestor Jacques Eloi des Mondes. The first 13-week arc features characters including servants Raxl and Quito, runaway heiress Holly Marshall, conflicted minister Reverend Matthew Dawson, local mystic Evangeline 'Vangie' Abot, and others. After the sixty-fifth episode, the series was substantially retooled, moving its setting from Maljardin to Desmond Hall, the family's ancestral home in North America, and jettisoning most of the cast. The new storylines involve a 'mark of death,' a witches' coven, the Serpent God, and Jean Paul's struggle to lift the Desmond family curse. The series ends with a definitive wrap-up episode revealing the fates of Raxl, the Desmonds, and the curse.

Reader's Guide

Strange Paradise was notable as the first soap opera to be marketed in reruns, picked up for syndicated reruns almost immediately after its final episode. Despite rocky ratings that led to its being dropped by Metromedia stations in New York and Los Angeles by October 8, 1969, the series completed its 195-episode run. It found new life in the home video market in 1993 when Centaur Distribution began issuing VHS volumes, releasing 21 volumes covering the first 105 episodes before the project folded. The rights were later purchased by Nihali Entertainment, but no DVD release has been forthcoming. The show remained available in syndication, most recently airing on Canada's Drive-In Classics from October 4, 2004 to October 1, 2007, marking its 35th anniversary. The series also influenced other projects, though the article does not detail them.

Did You Know?

• An early working title for the series was The Garden of Evil.
• Exterior shots of Maljardin Mansion were filmed at Casa Loma.
• Actor Colin Fox played the dual roles of Jean Paul and Jacques.

Origins & Production Context

Strange Paradise was conceived by producer Steve Krantz as a direct response to the massive success of ABC's Dark Shadows in the American market. To bring the project to life, Krantz assembled a creative team that included actor-writer Ian Martin and veteran television and radio producer Jerry Layton, both of whom received on-screen credit as creators. The series was a co-production involving the CBC and American broadcasters Metromedia and Kaiser Broadcasting, with filming taking place in Ottawa, Ontario, at CTV affiliate CJOH-TV. An early working title, The Garden of Evil, referenced the English translation of Maljardin, the Caribbean island that served as the show's initial setting. The production was marketed to potential stations through a pilot episode filmed in May 1969 and a pitch reel of additional scenes that Krantz Films' staff called "the Vignettes." The series debuted in American syndication on September 8, 1969, before finding a home on CBC Television from October 20, 1969, to July 22, 1970, running for 39 weeks across 195 episodes.

Narrative Structure & Story Arcs

The series was structured into three separate 13-week story arcs, though a major retooling occurred after episode 65. The first arc, set on the remote Caribbean island of Maljardin, centered on billionaire Jean Paul Desmond, whose grief over his wife Erica's death drove him to strike a blasphemous bargain with the spirit of his sinister ancestor, Jacques Eloi des Mondes. Supporting characters included the devoted servants Raxl and Quito, runaway heiress Holly Marshall, conflicted Reverend Matthew Dawson, local mystic Vangie Abot, struggling artist Tim Stanton, Erica's sister Allison Carr, business associate Dan Forrest, and Holly's social-climbing mother Elizabeth Marshall. After the retooling, the setting shifted to Desmond Hall, the family's ancestral home in North America, and the majority of the cast was replaced. The new stories explored the "mark of death" compelling Jean Paul to murder, the disappearance of his brother Philip, a witches' coven targeting the Desmonds, the influence of the Serpent God, and a final confrontation with the powers of darkness, all unified by Jean Paul's struggle to break the Desmond family curse. The series concluded with a definitive wrap-up episode revealing the fates of Raxl, the Desmonds, and the long-standing curse.

Cast & Performances

Canadian actor Colin Fox anchored the series in the dual roles of Jean Paul Desmond and his ancestor Jacques, a performance that launched a career spanning stage, screen, and television, with later credits including Shakespeare's Macbeth and Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal. The Maljardin ensemble featured Cosette Lee as Raxl, Kurt Schiegl as the hulking, bald, mute Quito, Sylvia Feigel as Holly, Dan MacDonald as Reverend Dawson, Jon Granik as Dan, Paisley Maxwell as Elizabeth, Dawn Greenhalgh as Allison, and Angela Roland as Vangie. Bruce Gray and Tudi Wiggins also appeared in the original cast, both going on to further daytime drama and feature film work. When the series moved to Desmond Hall, only Fox, Lee, Schiegl, Feigel, and Wiggins carried over, though only Fox and Lee remained through the final episode. The new Desmond Hall regulars included Neil Dainard as Philip, Pat Moffat as Irene, Jack Creley as Laslo, Peg Dixon and Jan Campbell as Ada, David Wells as Cort, Lucy Warner as Emily Blair, Vivian Reis as Agatha Pruitt, Trudy Young as Susan, and Robert Goodier as Julien Desmond.

Production Challenges & the Retooling

Ratings for Strange Paradise were unstable from the outset. By October 8, 1969—barely a month after its American premiere—Metromedia stations in New York and Los Angeles had dropped the show, while Kaiser Broadcasting stations in Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit shifted it into early afternoon slots. The poor performance prompted a significant production shakeup: writer Ian Martin and executive producer Jerry Layton departed after just nine weeks of production. Layton was succeeded by Robert Costello, who had previously served as producer on Dark Shadows, the very show that had inspired Strange Paradise's creation. In a Variety interview, Krantz expressed confidence in the turnaround, comparing the show's trajectory to the New York Mets, who had started the season poorly before winning the National League Championship Series. He promised a faster pace and a "generally better" product. The retooling also involved dropping or altering several characters from the pilot—Paul Harding left the role of Dan Forrest, Patricia Collins' Huaco was not continued, and Nonnie Griffin's Beryl Forbes was replaced entirely by Angela Roland's Vangie Abbott as the Conjure Woman.