Now It Can Be Told:
The True Story of Peter’s Angels
While Aaron Spelling is revered as the creator of the hit tv show Charlie’s Angels, not many people know that the original inspiration for the show was a little known program called Peter’s Angels. Developed by Aaron’s younger sister Erin, Peter’s Angels revolved around the same characters who’ve become well known in Charlie’s Angels - three young people working at a private detective agency which is financed by a mysterious, rich benefactor.
Erin believed the pivotal role of the mysterious benefactor could only
be played by Peter Criss. Kiss was Erin’s favorite band, and she thought
Peter was the cutest. But he was always hidden behind the drums,
and she maintained that he needed to pursue his own identity outside the
band.
Appealing to Peter’s ego, Erin broached the subject of his starring
in her proposed tv show. As Peter felt that his large drum set contributed
to his being overshadowed by the other members of Kiss, he readily agreed
to play the role of Peter Criss in Erin Spelling’s aptly titled Peter’s
Angels. Unfortunately, though Criss had read the script and even
shot the pilot before signing his contract, his quest for individual recognition
was a failure. He didn’t realize that he would be seen only from behind,
or more frequently be only a hand clutching a drumstick.
Erin, wanting to tie in to the Peter Criss persona, decided that the Angels should be a three piece band who not only shared their mysterious benefactors love of music, but also his love of crime solving. Scouts for the show spotted the Dead Airbourne Goats while they were playing a benefit for the Rudy Ray Moore Preservation Society. The band was deemed perfect except for one thing - they had four members. Erin approached three of the band, explaining the concept of the show. Luck was on her side that night, my friends, as the Goats were unhappy with their second guitarist. Also they were indeed in a Peter Criss mood. They readily accepted Erin’s offer to costar in the show, as well as her offer to fire their second guitarist, Pete Best.
Production of Peter’s Angels began as it was planned as a replacement for the Sonny Bono Comedy Revue, which had been canceled after two abysmal episodes. Rumor had it that the three Angels were the backup band who appeared behind Sonny in his appearance on the Six Million Dollar Man. Enraged at the perceived betrayal by his pseudo band, Sonny tried to crash the closed Peter’s Angels set. During shooting of one of the first few episodes, Sonny was accidentally caught on film being beaten senseless by security. Consequently, a lawsuit was filed by Sonny alleging that not only was he beaten, but he was forced to repeatedly recite the phrase “Sonny minus Cher equals failure.”
Though production on Peter’s Angels continued, the lawsuit prevented the show from being aired in the continental US or any US territory with the exception of Guam, who received the show accidentally in a large crate marked “Radioactive Seeds.” The show became a huge hit in Guam as the only tv channel was owned by an American ex-patriot who held membership number two in the Kiss Army.
As the studio believed Sonny’s lawsuit would be thrown out in court, Erin was allowed to continue shooting the first season’s episodes. The cast, crew, and studio executives were encouraged when they discovered Peter’s Angels had become the number one show in Guam. Though the studio was losing money waiting for Sonny’s lawsuit to be resolved, they believed the hysterical reaction to Peter’s Angels meant that it would be a huge financial success when it could be shown in the US. However, the studio had no idea how the early episodes made their way to Guam. They had believed them to be safely locked in an empty ice cream cart located at the back of the set the William Shatner / Doug McClure vehicle, the Barbary Coast.
Only now can the true mystery of the shows travel to Guam be revealed. When Sonny Bono discovered that his lawsuit had failed to shut down production of Peter’s Angels, he decided that drastic measures must be taken. During the night, he broke into the studio, stealing the film reels for the first three episodes. However he realized that he did not have a brilliant plan for removing them from the premises. That was when he spied the box marked “ship to Guam.” He threw the film canisters into the crate, thinking they would never be seen again. However it is at this precise moment that Sonny realized his hatred of Peter’s Angels had kept him so preoccupied, he hadn’t eaten all day, and that the crate was filled with seeds.
When the crate was picked up for shipment the next day, Sonny was found on the floor next to a half eaten bag of seeds. Studio executives were frantic when they discovered Sonny had ingested a large volume of the Radioactive Seeds, thus providing a basis for a second lawsuit against the studio. Fearing this eventuality, the studio tried to placate Sonny by placing him in charge of the licensing of Peter’s Angels merchandise.
Sonny, in a state of dementia, gave high priority to the Inflatable Hat, the Gyroscope, and the Collapsible Walking Stick, which due to a manufacturing defect, collapsed randomly at inopportune times during use. Sonny’s seed dementia lasted for an entire month, during which time he licensed Peter’s Angels to anyone who asked, regardless of the product or the companies reputation. Consequently, Peter’s Angels memorabilia tended to be cheaply made, extremely stupid, and almost useless.
The low point in the merchandising of Peter’s Angels was when the Angels were forced to promote the Inflatable Hat. In promotional photos and advertising, the Angels appeared to be quite reluctant and unhappy to be wearing such stupid, ugly, miserable hats.
When his Radioactive Seed dementia eventually dissipated, Sonny dropped his lawsuit based on the stipulation that he be allowed to play the part of Peter’s assistant, a Bosley-like character. After two episodes of Peter’s Angels featuring Sonny’s new character, ratings dropped off the charts in Guam and the show was canceled.
Sonny considered
filing another lawsuit against Erin and the studio as he believed that
his character would not have negatively affected the show had he been allowed
to wear Peter Criss makeup as the Angels did. Though he had shown
up in makeup everyday, Erin had not allowed him to appear on screen until
he washed his face. When Sonny appeared at district court to file
papers for the lawsuit, he was greeted with ridicule by the county clerk,
who refused to accept his papers.
By this time Aaron Spelling had successfully distorted the original premise of Peter’s Angels for his own profit. Believing Peter Criss too wooden an actor, and thinking three women would have more appeal to the mindless masses, Aaron successfully stole his sister Erin’s brilliant idea, and Charlie’s Angels was born.
While
not many have seen the original television show, it’s influence is felt
everywhere. Director David Lynch had originally intended Twin Peaks
Laura Palmer to be a Peter Criss obsessed debutante. However, the network
felt that the audience would not be able to relate to a Kiss-makeup-wearing,
snare-drum-carrying girl. Thus the studio forced Lynch to change the character
of Laura Palmer to someone the audience could identify with
- a drug addicted teenage prostitute.
Though Peter’s Angels only lasted one season, Erin Spelling made several low budget movies featuring the same characters. Each one starred the same cast, and was made by the same crew as the turmoil surrounding the series had turned them into a real though dysfunctional family. While the Peter’s Angels movies were deemed a bad Charlies Angels rip off by those who saw them at the time, we now know that the opposite holds true.
Thus the unknown but legendary story of Peter’s Angels is a typical
Hollywood scandal involving those familiar yet standard themes - sibling
versus sibling, professional jealousy, rock and roll, Sonny Bono, Radioactive
Seeds, and Peter Criss. Long live Peter’s Angels!
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