But this is the script doctor who has turned a half-dozen flagging series around, luring new viewers with one outrageous plot turn after another. It's unusual to give a series creator/head writer that kind of power. 'But I've lived with this (show) in my head for so long. 'About the only things I haven't had anything to do with are makeup and costumes,' Reilly said with a laugh. He has been the man behind everything from choosing the locale to selecting the music for the opening credits. NBC has given Reilly _ who over the past two decades has either been head writer or part of a writing team on eight soap operas on all three major networks _ unprecedented say in getting the new soap off the ground. But underneath, it's totally different, as it is in any small town.' 'On the surface, it's serene and calm, like the swans swimming on the town pond. And it's going to have lots of secrets secrets provide surprises. 'It's going to be about family, and it's going to be romantic.

'Passions is going to be a classic soap that's been repackaged for the next millennium,' Reilly promised. For a few initial scenes, three actors and a camera crew went all the way to Paris. Location scenes will be shot in Camden, Maine, and in the Fisherman's Village waterfront area of Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

'Over 20 years in daytime (TV), without realizing it, I was probably making mental notes for this,' said Reilly, who moved from New York to Los Angeles to supervise the first year's production for the new show, which films in Studio City.

Thus was born Passions, NBC's newest soap opera, which debuts Monday.

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