Beautiful Reunion for Melrose Lovers

Not many trips down memory lane trigger visions of an exploding apartment complex and a redhead ripping off her wig, but that's the kind of stuff you get when you reflect on Melrose Place, the steamy prime-time sudser that made Heather Locklear a household bitch and first showed us how desperate Marcia Cross could be. ABC Family's Beautiful People capitalizes on such nostalgia by having Grant Show reunite with Daphne Zuniga on the season finale (airing tonight at 9 pm/ET). How was it when Jake got back together with Jo? TVGuide.com chatted with Show about that and more.

TVGuide.com: What was it like living in the midst of the '90s Melrose Place zeitgeist?
Grant Show: It was great, it was a fun ride and it was difficult. At the time it all felt normal, because it's what you expect when you get into this business — if you're going to be an actor, you're expecting to be in something big; you don't start acting to be a guest star. But I can look back at it now and go, "Wow, that was a rare event that happens to, maybe, 10 or 20 people in a decade." I was lucky enough to be one of those people. In hindsight, it seems much more extreme to me than it did while I was there.

TVGuide.com: I have to say, Fox's Point Pleasant [on which Show played the Devil's henchman] seemed like the right show at the right time, mixing Lost spookiness with Desperate Housewives sudsiness. Were you disappointed with how it was received?
Show: Oh, yeah. It was probably the most fun I've ever had working. I loved that character, I loved the show and I loved the people I was working with — it was just a really, really good experience. I think the show could have worked. In the old days, they used to give you at least 13 episodes [to catch on]. But to put us up against the Nos. 1 and 5 ranked shows, CSI and The Apprentice, and expect us to do well? No, not gonna happen. It needed time to find itself.

TVGuide.com: I was surprised that the pilot revealed as much as it did, spelling it out that mystery-girl Christina was the daughter of Satan.
Show: So was I. I thought all kinds of stuff had been revealed [too quickly]. I was like, "Wow, you can't give that way already! Where are we going to go?" [Laughs] I was amazed at how much they were able to pack into every episode. That might have been one of the problems, too; it may have been too thick with stuff. A lot of people, I thought, couldn't figure it out.

TVGuide.com: Did Daphne have to nudge you to pop up on Beautiful People as her ex-husband?
Show: No, no, not at all. As a matter of fact, it was very funny. I was driving out to my golf club when I saw her poster for Beautiful People and thought, "How about that? I should give her a call and go work with her." The phone literally rang then and it was my manager saying, "Beautiful People is wondering if you would do an episode or two." Of course I would!

TVGuide.com: When we first meet your character, I was like, "This is perhaps Grant Show's most sympathetic role ever." And then... my opinion changed.
Show: [Laughs] Yeah. I'm interested in seeing how it plays out. I love Daphne and I love working with Daphne.

TVGuide.com: The episode's conclusion demands your return if the show gets picked up for a second season. You up for that?
Show: Oh, yeah. I don't know if I want to move to Toronto [where Beautiful People films], but I'll do some more if they want me to.

TVGuide.com: You have lived in New York City; what did you think of the "facsimile" they've created up there?
Show: I haven't seen the show, but I have to say their New York apartment is quite grand for one paid for by a single mom putting a kid through private school. This place must go for $10,000 a month!

TVGuide.com: What's next for you?
Show: I'm hoping to shoot an indie next month called Barstow, with Scott Wilson (Monster, CSI). It's a cool, dark little movie where none of the characters seem redeemable. I play a kind of dirtbag just out of prison and trying to get money where I can, sinking lower and lower until I get to a place where I realize [I need to] clean myself up and get out of this world while trying to keep my loyalty to my friends.

TVGuide.com: Let me guess, he's "saved by the love of a good woman"?
Show: No, no, not at all! [Laughs] As I'm trying to get my s--- together, my girlfriend takes off and dumps the kid with me!