HOT ON THE HEELS OF DIRECTING Melrose Place's heavily shrouded-in-secrecy series finale (which is set to air May 24), executive producer Charles Pratt, Jr. took a moment to talk to SOAP OPERA WEEKLY's Tony Calega about his favorite Melrose memories, and offer a preview of what promises to be a show-ender that will more than satisfy Melrose fans.

Tony Calega: How did it feel to wrap up the show?
Charles Pratt, Jr.: We rolled camera, and everyone threw dinner rolls at me. It's an old custom, I guess. Something that I'd never heard before, so it was a bit of a shock when the crew started throwing them. Earlier, we threw about half of the crew into the pool, and broke open champagne. That was fun, but saying goodbye was hard for everyone. It was sort of like losing a family member for each of us, because the show has been part of our lives for so long. It's been such a unique experience for all involved, and right now everyone is trying to remember the good times, not that we are being canceled.

TC: What was the fan reaction, once the cancellation was set in stone?
CP: There has been a lot of letter writing, and the Internet has been alive with people trying to save the show. I think the one thing that no one suspected, especially Fox, is that the ratings have steadily climbed to the point where I think we've been doing better than some of the other shows that have been picked up.

TC: Looking back, what is your most vivid memory of the show?
CP: I was sitting with Thomas Calabro (Michael) during the launch of the show eight years ago, when they blocked off Melrose Avenue. There was press everywhere, and Fox was spending millions of dollars promoting the show. Thomas turned to me and said, "Boy, are we going to look like idiots if this show is a failure." I had this horrible sense of panic, and wanted to pack up my office before we even started. After we finished wrapping up the show, I thought, "Well, he was wrong."

TC: Was there a lot of script reworking when the cancellation was announced?
CP: No. We knew well in advance how the show would end, we just had to decide whether to cliff-hang it like we had in the past, or give it an exciting ending. We felt there should be excitement right up till the last scene, so that's what you'll see.

TC: Can you give us a preview of some of the story points?
CP: The Peter/Amanda/Kyle/Eve quadrangle will explode again. Somebody is going to go crazy - and lives will be in jeopardy. There are a lot of cops in the last episode, a lot of threats and a lot of major problems. In the end, you'll definitely know where everyone is in their lives. Not that everybody necessarily lives, but you can definitely imagine what the next season would have been like.

TC: Why the Jane/Kyle pairing?
CP: We've had the desire to get Jane and Kyle together ever since Josie (Bissett; Jane) came back. Rob (Estes; Kyle) and Josie were a little resistant to the idea because they are married in real life, but the story started to take an interesting turn, so we ran with it.