Taryn and Laurie being models. Because her life as a successful model was severely regimented by Julia, Taryn, who had been a model ever since she was a small child, was very lonely and she was not often allowed to socialize with other people her age. Because of this, Taryn saw Laurie as the only real friend she had, and she offered to teach her all she knew about the world of modeling and fashion. Laurie not only had to deal with the pressures of the world of modeling, but as she was still in public school, she had to also contend with the regular trials of teenaged friends and high school grades. Mark Bailey (Roscoe Born), a reporter doing a story on the fashion industry, became enamored with Racine, causing problems in his relationship with sensible lawyer Sara Frank (Anne Schedeen), who was Blair's best friend. A suspicious Sara cautioned her boyfriend on becoming too interested in Racine, commenting, "She's been in more beds than a hotel breakfast tray!" She still admired Racine's success, by commenting, "She's done well for a girl named off of a map of Wisconsin." Reception The series attempted to ride the wave of popular glossy nighttime soaps, such as Dallas and Dynasty. When Paper Dolls premiered in September 1984, the first episode achieved an 18.4 rating. It featured the requisite stock pleasures such as big business, glamour, intrigue, catfights, and verbal spats (particularly between Racine and most of the other characters). In one scene, Mark entered Racine's office while she was getting a massage. He asked, "Do you want me to wait outside until you're decent?" Racine responded, "How much time do you have?" In another scene, an irate Julia, brandishing a Barbie-style fashion doll of her daughter, stormed into Racine's office. "This will not be the new Taryn Blake doll!" she barked. "The eyes are brown!" Coolly, Racine quipped, "I guess they couldn't quite match that bloodshot tone." Even with a series of rave reviews in People urging viewers to give the show a chance, ratings were low and the series was not able to find an audience, due in large part because the show had been pre-empted on some weeks by the baseball playoffs. The final episode of the series found David on the verge of failure after an influential fashion critic was blackmailed by Wesley and Racine to pan his new