The lives of beautiful, ambitious people in L.A. are always interesting. But when you mix in blackmail, backstabbing, kidnapping, insanity, murder, and sex sex sex, then you're talking really interesting. And a successful TV show.

Set in an apartment complex called "Melrose Place," this spin-off of super-producer Aaron Spelling's hit "Beverly Hills, 90210" is a fast-paced look at L.A. in the '90s. Everyone's young, hot, well-dressed, and tangled up in some of the wildest drama you've ever seen. Don't look for realism here. Sure, we like a lot of the characters -- including nice-guy Billy, sweet neurotic Alison, noble gay guy Matt, and good bad-boy Jake. But "Melrose" really hooks us with the characters we love to hate: that blonde bitch Amanda, crazy Kimberly, scheming Sydney, and devious Peter. It's a world where people move in together at the drop of a towel, nobody's ever too sure who their friends are, and death is just the beginning of a crazy revenge trip.

No one stays happy for long, but whatever. Bliss is overrated. On "Melrose Place," bad guys finish first. And we wouldn't have it any other way.