Precious was a live-in nurse and caregiver for the elderly Edna Wallace. She was also an orangutan; unable to afford a human nurse for her disabled mother's care, Beth Wallace employed Precious instead. During her stay in Harmony Precious developed an unrequited love for Beth's love interest, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, which was often depicted in elaborate fantasy sequences.
Precious eventually left Harmony in 2005 to take care of a sick aunt, Divinity; while leaving Harmony on a train, Precious took a picture of Luis and let it fly out a window—symbolizing that she had given up Luis once and for all. After the character's departure, Precious was spoken of frequently by both Edna and Tabitha Lenox; at one point Tabitha was planning to visit Precious and Divinity shortly before the series finale.
The character, while identified as female, was portrayed by a trained male orangutan named BamBam from March 14, 2003 to April 25, 2005.. Though the character was portrayed as a competent caregiver with implied medical credentials, she was intended for comic effect. The use of an orangutan as a nurse drew intense criticism from animal rights activists including famed scientist and ape researcher Dr. Jane Goodall.
In 2003, Passions submitted BamBam for a Daytime Emmy Award. In early 2004, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which administers the awards, disallowed the entry, with the following statement:
Our ruling is based on the belief that the Academy must draw a line of distinction between animal characters that aren't capable of speaking parts and human actors whose personal interpretation in character portrayal creates nuance and audience engagement that uniquely qualifies those performers for consideration of television's highest honor.
Read more about this topic: Minor Passions Characters
Famous quotes containing the word precious:
“why
Do our black faces search the empty sky?
Is there something we have forgotten? some precious thing
We have lost, wandering in strange lands?”
—Arna Bontemps (1902–1973)
“Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 3:13-18.
“I am very sorry to know and hear how unreverently that most precious jewel, the Word of God, is disputed, rhymed, sung and jangled in every ale-house and tavern, contrary to the true meaning and doctrine of the same.”
—Henry VIII (1491–1547)