Actor James Belushi compared the series (among others) to the British TV serial "The Prisoner", and stated: "It's very tough, very challenging—a lot of viewers probably won't dig it." Dana Delany suggested that viewers should "let it wash over you, enjoy each scene, and by the end it'll make sense". Robert Loggia compared it to Elizabethan play "The Duchess of Malfi" and the ancient Greek tragedy "Medea". ABC, bound to make sure that viewers wouldn't lose attention, had a supplemental book, "The Wild Palms Reader", published and offered a telephone hotline with the show's initial run. These measures notwithstanding, Stone considered the atmosphere to be more important than the storyline.