As unlikely as it sounds, the newest daytime drama hit American television 25 years ago with the premiere of Passions on July 5, 1999.

Created by soap veteran James E. Reilly and replacing NBC's Another World, Passions featured witches, wizards, talking dolls, gates to hell and a resident orangutan nurse named Precious.

“Soap operas are supposed to be entertaining,” Reilly explained to The New York Times in 2001. “Some people like to tackle big social issues, but we’re not. If you give us an hour of your time, we want you to have fun. … I think our audiences like our humor.”

Despite (or perhaps because of) these oddball elements, Passions never became a hit. In 2007, the series was moved to DirecTV's 101 Network and canceled altogether the following year.