Shangri La Plaza (Part 1)

Part 1. Pilot (and only) episode of Shangri La Plaza, a musical-comedy pilot about the lives of the tenants of a Southern California mini-mall. Starring Broadway star Terrence Mann, Jeff Yagher, Melora Hardin (Jan from The Office), Savion Glover, jazz singer Carmen Lundy, and Allison Mack (Chloe from Smallville). Aired in 1990.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• musical
• theatre
• broadway
• television
• pilot

[kyropter]

I just came across this, and wanted to see if it was as bad as I remember. The problem I had with this show, the pilot aired in the end of July of 1990. I left early the next morning for a field exercise (I was in the 82nd Airborne Division) and while we were in the field Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. So I went right from the field to Saudi Arabia. This was the LAST thing I saw on television. I went through Desert Storm with "it's more than just a mall" stuck in my head. The horror, the horror

[bdtb]

@kyropter Thanks for posting this story! So funny that these songs were stuck in your head in Saudi Arabia! For me, it's the Donut Hole song I can't get out of my head.

[Tebssis]

OMG! I've been looking for this show online for years! My VHS copy finally bit the dust. Couldn't remember the Plaza in the name and the darn search engines couldn't read my mind!!

Awesome cast and brilliant lyrics. Too bad it was ahead of it's time and CBS didn't realize it was a gem.

[bdtb]

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm so happy I recorded this when it was on and saved it for so many years to share with others. It's hard to explain this show to anyone without actually showing them.

[harpsichordion]

Lmfao.

I can't look away.

[DarogaEggnog]

This show is so hilarious, I wish it had continued.

[hsheafer]

Thank you so much for posting this! My sister and I had it on VHS for years and it no longer works. I was amazed that I still know every word!

[NitekMuscle]

@seatspud That's It! It featured Martin Lawrence and was one of NBC's midseason misfires. 

[seatspud]

@NitekMuscle It was called "We're a Little Bit Strange", premiered in 1989, and also never got past the pilot episode. I've been looking everywhere for clips of it, but to no avail.

[moviemonkeys]

Ah my God the dancer with crutches! So painfully politically correct 90s!

[moviemonkeys]

4:44 the description of this pilot

[D7NEWTON7]

wtf?

[NitekMuscle]

Also, does anyone have the lyrics?

[NitekMuscle]

I remember seeing this on CBS, nearly twenty years ago. Does anyone remember the failed pilot about the black family of witches and warlocks? It was kind of like a black twist on 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch'.