Early DYNASTY episodes

I remember laughing uproariously at the dog attack at Blake and Krystal's wedding.

The first season is by far the best for me. It takes place in the first year of the 80s, but it still has remnants of the 70s in that it is still conscious of family TV values and tradition. The Carringtons were quite overwhelmingly epic in their wealth, even more so as the story bounced back and forth between the more rleatable middle-class Blasidells. In a year, the Blaisdells would be written out (except for a more campy kooky Claudia) and DYNASTY would veer into an excessively soapy, melodramatic campfest that was characteristic of what TV has now become.

Fallon was 10 times more fascinating a bitch than her mother ever could be, and unfortunately this would be her one shining season as the show's complex postadolescent vamp. No one is better than PSM than her romp in the first season of DYNASTY.

Linda Evans was devastatingly beautiful, and had that wonderful earthy quality that combined well with her emphemeral beauty. Krystle was always more fascinating as an outsider. In succeeding seasons, she became frustratingly more and more shallow and one dimensional as her shoudler pads got bigger and bogger. Her scenes with Bo Hopkins were sexually charged.

John Forsythe was classic as TV's new villain. Blake Carrington was a monster. Scheming, lying, stealing, destroying ... simultaneously worshipping and tyrannizing his wife, Blake was Byronic and Brontean and made J.R. Ewing look like a redneck.

The class structure of the have and have-nots -billionaires and the bourgeosie, wildcatters and servants - were all wonderfully written, giving DYNASTY a breeding ground for class warfare.

And the show was daring and much more realistic with its issues. The ruling class were not heroized, but biting portrayals of capitalism; a young man grappled with his sexuality; Fallon even had a clever line in the premier episode that there would never be a place at Denver-Carrington for her because, like Jews, women weren't a part of her daddy's big boy's club. There was really nothing heroic about the rich in the first season. They were portraryed as suffocating in their big wide open space.

It was "smart" television. This initial scene between Blake and Steven is wonderfully written - daring, edgy, psychological - more characteristic of 70s TV than what would be in store for audiences in the 80s, 90s and now:

Bravo, R2 !

Whilst the writing quality and production values are excellent in the first season and the show makes some attempt at verisimilitude I just find it too dull and slowly paced to really be enjoyable.

Linda Evans isn't interesting enough too carry the show and the show feels green as though it hasn't quite come into it's stride yet.

In my opinion the second season is far superior; it's spicier and campier but still a quality show. DYNASTY doesn't truly begin until Joan Collins enters.

I like the first band second seasons. The quality goes down more and more with each succeeding season.

Good article about the "Dynasty" that could have been. Echoes R2 perfectly.

The final season is excellent, R5.

I miss shows like this.

Blake got away with brutally raping Krystle by giving her flowers.

I didn't think Season 2 was all that over the top. Alexis was, in many respects, a very menacing character in at least the first half dozen or so episodes. I remember the time she shot the gun that spooked the horse that threw Krystle, not being entirely certain she wasn't just going to shoot Krystle. A lot of the stuff on Dynasty seemed new to television at the time.

Season 1 was lovely. Well written, well acted.

A nice little game of cat and mouse from season 2 below from 6:15

[quote] Linda Evans isn't interesting enough too carry the show and the show feels green as though it hasn't quite come into it's stride yet.

This.

She wasn't interesting enough to carry the whole show and she wasn't meant to... it was a real ensemble piece at the time and everybody moved in and out of everybody else's orbit.

Evans delivered solid performances in the first and second season, when the scripts were better.

She's cursed with a soft voice that doesn't really register a lot of emotion. Katherine McPhee, whatever her limitations are, I think suffers from the same problem.

I haven't seen the show since its TV debut but I do remember the first season hooked a lot of people. All of a sudden "Dynasty parties" were the rage (without irony) and everyone would get together and do drinking games. Steven knits his brow over the struggle with his gayness (gulp), Alexis nails a reaction shot (gulp). Joan Collins went from acting in her sister's porno movies like Slut and Bitch, to enchanting a nation when she pulled up her veil on the Dynasty witness stand. Lucky bitch. She also seemed to really like the publicity that came with her role. Remember when her soon-to-be-ex-husband picketed her house at the peak of Dynasty's popularity with a sign saying he wanted more money. Glad to see Joan has settled down a bit since then. Anyway, she got to fuck Warren Beatty. I hate her for that, by the way. Lucky bitch.

I don't think either Fallon or Alexis were written only as bitches in the early going. They were tough women when they wanted to be, even horrible. But not without their redeeming or at least endearing qualities. Fallon was touchingly loyal to Steven. Alexis... was amusing. I never quite bought her great love for her children... I think she loved them in her way... but she was just as happy to use it as a battering ram.

When they decided to make Alexis a bitch she became a bitch. The whole show slid when they got crazier to get better ratings.

btw, Dale Robertson, who played Walter Lankershim that first season, passed away the other day. I think Walter was supposed to be "Cliff Barnes" to Blake's "JR" until they decided to make Blake a hero in season 2 and concentrate less on the oil industry stuff.

I also think one of the big strengths of seasons one and two is that the dialogue was often very clever, at least in comparison to everything else on TV at the time.

I can't believe Dale Robertson lasted this long. I blame Bonnie Franklin for overshadowing him.

Lucky Bitches!

The Steven/Claudia relationship was also very touching and poignant that first season. Until I read this thread, I forgot how good a show it was that first season. It's something my TV exec ex would label "intelligent trash."

Dale Robertson was handsome in his younger days... looks a little like Russell Crowe... in his younger days.

He kind of resembles Clooney in that pic at r20.

I don't recall any pre-Alexis episodes.

Oh, Joan, knock it off.

r22's been inhaling poisonous paint fumes.

omigawd R18....that was absolutely hysterical. Never seen it. Forgot ... she didn't star in the Slut (although I believe that was its working title), but the Stud.

Tks! Still laughing.

Didn't the character who played Dex have a fall from, uh, grace and end up busted buying crack from an undercover cop in the East Village in the 90s?

For anyone who hasn't seen this...

Has anyone seen the Ali MacGraw episodes? She makes Kristen Stewart look good.

I was 9 year old and in the hospital after an appendectomy in early September of 1981. I was up later than usual and "Dynasty" was on. My luck, it was the episode when Blake killed Ted Dinard. I didn't even get the homosexuality angle but I remember thinking, "This is a good show" even though I never watched another episode for 27 years when I bought Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.

Love how Alexis has on a different wig in every episode of Season 2 as they were trying to figure her character out.

First season of Dynasty got horrible reviews and low ratings.

The second season the ratings went up, and they ended the year with an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.

that Morell bitch killed an innocent baby with that shot gun.

Best female fight scene ever

If you notice a stunt double was used for Joan Collins. In almost all of the action sequences, her face is never seen

Lucky Bitches...

"Do you have to do that it the kitchen"

R33, I love that catfight especially because it didn't just come out of the blue as the later ones did but came after months of tension. Good stuff.

Aaron Spelling wanted Diedre Hall for Krystal if Linda Evans didn't commit. But Days of Our Lives wouldn't let Hall out of her contract anyway. I read it in a Days trivia book I have. Wasn't the chauffeur in the first season the same guy that would play Roman on Days?

The guy who played Tony was cute.

Re-imagining Dynasty:

Blake: John Slattery Crystal: Theresa Russell Alexis: Either Sela Ward or Sherilyn Fenn Sammy Jo: Jennifer Lawrence

Sela Ward turned down a contract role on Dynasty. She was one the Shapiro's short-lived series Emerald Point.

The show got canned, but the Shapiro's were really impressed with Sela and offered her a contract role.

She turned it down to focus on films.

As IF, R39.

R40 - That worked so well for her.

R42 she has two Emmys on her shelf

I would love to see Sherilyn Fenn as an aging campy glamour bitch. She would turn it out.

Season 1 was the best season. Collins dragged the show down and dare I say it, the spectre of Alexis over the first season was more compelling than her actual presence. The dynamic between Fallon and Blake was superb. Linda Evans as Krystle was so regal and put everybody at ease. Claudia was so haunting. Steven was so cultured and beautiful - a homosexual paradigm, a gorgeous boy. So, so lovely.

R44 - Exactly.

R45 the second season received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.

The first season got nothing.

r47, that's because style usually wins over substance. And that's what Collins was. Not unlike the magnificent Stephanie Beacham revived the incredible character of Sable Colby for Dynasty's swan song did the show recapture that early nuance.

The time is ripe for, if not a remake of DYNASTY, a fabulous, adult soap opera about wealth and power and family. I was really surprised nothing more came of POLITICAL ANIMALS from last year: everyone I knew I was watching, and it generated tons of buzz. People loved it or hated it, but everyone was talking.

The time is ripe. We want a juicy, delicious primetime soap, dammnit!

*unlike *until

If they cast the movie version, they are bound to cast nouveau riche trash as Alexis and Krystle:

[quote]The time is ripe. We want a juicy, delicious primetime soap, dammnit!

Agreed. And I had high hopes for the reboot of MELROSE PLACE, but the only new cast member who came close to capturing the spirit of the original was Katie Cassidy.

As far as a reimagining of DYNASTY, I think the perfect Alexis would be Jamie Luner. Actually, she'd be good as Claudia, too.

[quote] The time is ripe for, if not a remake of DYNASTY, a fabulous, adult soap opera about wealth and power and family.

I guess "Dirty Sexy Money" tried to fill that niche but it was bad: basically a flyover frau's idea of how wealthy and powerful New Yorkers live.The problem with developing that kind of show is that the public perception of the uber-rich has changed dramatically since the eighties.

Jamie would be wonderful on a primetime soap - but not as Alexis. She's a little young and not the right look.

Melrose Place was the true heir to Dynasty - not just because of Heather Locklear. Their characters are truly legendary, iconic to the 80s and 90s cultures and are an amazing political and social statement on the times. We all remember Alexis entering the court in the veil and Dr Kimberly ripping off her wig. And of course the tragic heroines, Claudia and Sydney.

[quote]The time is ripe for, if not a remake of DYNASTY, a fabulous, adult soap opera about wealth and power and family.

Um, I take it you haven't tuned in to the "Dallas" reboot?

I was never really a DALLAS fan, R56. DYNASTY won my love.

[quote]One thing I just don't get though is why the new staff was so rude to Krystal. Yes, it made for a good story arc with Krystal learning to stand up for herself, but in what universe would a butler (even a snobby one like Joseph) and the rest of the staff be so openly hostile/uncooperative with the boss' new wife?

It was entirely because she was originally his secretary -- or "ex-stenographer," as Alexis frequently commented -- so in essence she was a member of "the help" who managed to marry up. You see this kind of theme echoed even now in "Downton Abbey," after Branson the chauffeur married Sybil.

[quote]DYNASTY doesn't truly begin until Joan Collins enters.

Sorry, but I have to agree. While R2 makes some excellent points about Fallon and Krystle in particular, the show didn't have a true villain(ness) until Alexis came along. Btw I completely disagree that Blake was supposed to be any sort of villain in the real sense of the word. He was a ruthless businessman, sure, but did he ever gaslight his own wife and put her in an asylum, as J.R. once did to Sue Ellen?

[quote]I remember the time she shot the gun that spooked the horse that threw Krystle, not being entirely certain she wasn't just going to shoot Krystle.

I remember that scene much differently. I don't think she thought for a second that she would actually *shoot* Krystle, but what she didn't realize (and had obvious guilt about) was the fact that Krystle would lose the baby she was carrying as a result of the horse going apeshit.

I was more Dynasty then Dallas, but I loved all the primetime soaps, especially Knots Landing which outlasted them all. I also liked Bare Essence, but it only lasted one season. I wish they would release the DVD.

I'd saved this comment from an anonymous user on the old Dynasty soapchat forum:

"Okay, I've been having PM exchanges with a mysterious site member, and we're in agreement that DYNASTY should have attempted (and perhaps thought it was achieving) a certain Camelot parallel.

In the States, the first twenty years after WW2 was a unique time --- the country was recovering from the war while having the benefit of the war not being fought on American soil (not counting Pearl Harbor). The '50s has been referred to as "The American Decade" and "The Height of the 20th Century" because of how the American Myth, though not initiated in the '50s, seemed to come to fruition at that time... The rise of the unions brought about the rise of the middle class, and so that 2.5 children/1.5 cars-in-the-garage goal became nearly universal. A 40 hour workweek for Dad (which paid for everything a 4.5 person family in the suburbs could need), Mom in the kitchen icing a cake, vacations with ridiculously oversized picnic baskets taken in ridiculously oversized automobiles which were likely to be painted in primary colors to Yosemite National Park (or, gasp!!, even Europe for those with a little more disposable cash) with an "instamatic" camera or an 8 mm home-movie camera in tow to capture it all on what appeared to be a ruddy version of downmarket Technicolor.

It was all very seductive. A fairy tale. But one hallmark of the fairy tale is the proverbial troll under the bridge --- and the troll here was that much of this picture-perfect image was a lie. (Think PEYTON PLACE, the movie).

The image was very seductive, but not only were society's inequities bubbling up and becoming more apparent (the civil rights movement was getting its footing, and some of those mothers really hated icing those cakes), the sleepy "optimism" which defined the entire era was overshadowed by The Bomb, a brand-new threat which created a collective sense of hysteria just under the surface of the period's "Father Knows Best" denial.

The result is that there is a kind of Doomed Paradise flavor to the '50s which can still be observed in some of the news footage and TV shows and films (especially the better ones) of the time, the Eisenhower era... Ever notice the curiously cozy, black-and-white terror of those monster-movies of the '50s (or a very early Elvis concert!) or the strangely heart-broken night scenes from movies like, say, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE among countless others?

It's like it's five minutes from midnight. New Young Love doomed eternally for some terribly poignant reason.

It infected everything.

Much of that atmosphere, upbeat and downbeat, poured well over into the Kennedy era of the early-'60s... only by then, some (but not all) of the superficiality was being peeled away.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, and the JFK assassination 13 months later (which really was a huge deal at the time, haunting the culture for years afterwards, despite the cliche which time and excess media exploitation have rendered it today) and other events, everything changed... The first and second halves of the '60s are almost like two different decades --- the eleven or so years between the Vietnam war getting started for real and the resignation of President Nixon under the Watergate scandal and the fall of Saigon in 1975 (and all the lies the people were told and that were exposed in the interim) changed the culture profoundly. It left a melancholy, disillusioned residue upon the '70s which essentially defined that decade, a not-entirely-unappealling bittersweet aftertaste which was in turn wiped away with the neo-conservative wave of the early-'80s which saw Reagan and Thatcher rise to prominence...

"... Somehow, there has always seemed a parallel between these things and the fictional events of Blake Carrington's corporate rise in the '50s; his marriage to Alexis and their family ("that's what everyone said about it: 'ideal' "); its secrets and then its destruction in the wake of Camelot's collapse and JFK's death; the solemn, empty solitude of the mansion for more than a decade-and-a-half until his marriage to Krystle in 1980 only seconds before that neoconservative '80s wave had really kicked in; Alexis' return to a Camelot that no longer is and really never was...

Even the show itself seems to recognize this implicit tie-in ("..and that row, on that Greek tycoon's yacht, with his wife -- that wretchedly unhappy woman" --- before the show and its spin-off tried to downgrade that rich and pregnant reference to being merely an allusion to Ricardo Montalban).

And yet once DYNASTY really took-off and in so doing completely gave-in the Reagan revisionistic psychology of the period, all perspective seemed lost. And with it, the series. The sequins were there, but the subtext was gone.

DALLAS never displayed anything approaching this much backstory potential, yet it wound up doing far more with what it had. At least until Pam woke up just in time to plow into that 18-wheeler."

Alison Sweeney could also play a Crystal like character.

[quote]Collins dragged the show down

No, she made the show a success. If it wasn't for her DYNASTY would've been cancelled.

r63 the show was already an artistic success. Collins made it mere entertainment.

Linda Evans was the most popular woman in America in the 1980s, she was basically like Princess Diana in other words, regarded as a fairy tale queen- pure royalty. People had that deep rooted need and she gave them what they wanted so much so that Linda won the People's Choice award for 5 five straight years. Each time, the audience reacted to her like she was their sovereign.

Linda Evans Favorite Actress 1982:

Linda Evans Favorite Actress 1983:

Linda Evans Favorite Actress 1984:

Linda Evans Favorite Actress 1985:

Linda Evans Favorite Actress 1986:

[quote] the show was already an artistic success. Collins made it mere entertainment.

I was referring to commercial success, R64.

Whilst the first season might be high art I find it slow and dreary. Joan was captivating and very watchable and at times during the later seasons the only reason to watch.

I never thought Linda was a particularly good actress, although she is competent in the first two seasons; I always thought she gave her finest performance whilst comatose in the ninth season.

r71 - acting? Linda doesn't act, she just is. She's a superstar, baby. All they need do is shine as the mugging commoners gaze up in awe far far below them.

That was her problem R72.

"She just is."

In many of her scenes she seems more like a piece of furniture than she does a person.

LOL poor Datalounge. Reagan even ruined Dynasty.

I got Dynasty from Netflix. The first two season were good. After that it was still good, but an entirely different show.

I'm watching Big Valley on METV now. A young Linda Evans was a fucking Amazon Goddess. I'm as gay as anyone can get and even I would have done her. I would have let her peg me.

r73, that's Linda's genius in motion again. For Krystle was the Carrington mansion's and Blake's most prized possession. It's only natural that Krystle became a living work of art. Only the best for Blake Carrington. Again, Linda's brilliance is her understatement. She is almost mystical in her ethereality.

Linda was married to that gorgeous John Derek who broke her heart. Even after he dumped her for Bo, Linda never said a bad word about him. He really created her as a living sculpture. How can one live up to such perfection?

Although I never thought Linda was good looking it's sad that she felt the need for cosmetic surgery. She really looks bad nowadays.

I never knew you posted on Datalounge, Linda.

The most enjoyable TV nighttime soap I watched I also got off of Netflix. That was Peyton Place. I'm not sure Netflix offers it anymore.

Linda and John. This is a stunning photograph:

Is this who Linda was married to? I thought she was married to that Yawni singer.

r74, take a deep breath before you exhale in wonderment:

r81, that's him. Possibly the most beautiful man of the 20th century.

A bit off topic but here's John Derek (born 1926) with a group of young stars circa 1952 destined for big things. One of the assembled is a young woman named Marilyn Monroe. John chucked in the acting career shortly afterwards to become one of the great eccentric directors. Wonder what he thought of Marilyn.

R60, could you cripple that post and walk it by me one more time? Or maybe boil it down to a point? I don't get it.

I wonder if Miss Barbara Stanwyck as Victoria Barkley lusted after a young Linda.

r85, the post and the one at r61 is alluding to the social subtext of Dynasty and how it was ripe to explore something that evoked the emotional life of every American who had lived through Kennedy's presidency. The point of the post is that, as the 80s became so prosperous and decadent, the show LOST this profound visionary approach to telling its story of Blake, of Krystle and Alexis.

I remember the transition from the Eisenhower years to the Kennedy years. I was a kid but everyone wanted to be French all of a sudden. It was as though Jackie Kennedy single-handledly issued a ban on tail fins.

Ali MacGraw was robbed of an Emmy nom for her powerful portrayal of the doomed photographer.

I am still mourning the wondrous Lady Ashley Mitchell.

I thought Ali McGraw was terrific on Dynasty. What people don't get is that she was supposed to be ultra stiff and mechanical. That was the point of the character.

Tyne Daly auditioned for the role of Claudia (no joke it is true!)

[quote]What people don't get is that she was supposed to be ultra stiff and mechanical. That was the point of the character.

No, she wasn't. And Ali was awful on DYNASTY and in everything else she appeared in.

[quote] The time is ripe. We want a juicy, delicious primetime soap, dammnit!

They have. It is called 'Revenge'

Raquel Welch and Faye Dunaway were both offered Ali MacGraw's role.

And Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor were both offered Alexis.

R94 Joan Collins also says Jessica Walter was very close to signing as Alexis, before the deal fell apart.

Lucky for Joan

So was Jessica Walter's consolation prize Bare Essence (in the role played by Lee Grant in the miniseries)? I think Lorimar produced that too. Walter is a far better actress than Collins, but could never have brought the OTT camp factor that made Dynasty so deliciously popular.

Hmmm, Faye Dunaway as Alexis. Interesting.

But Joan Collins owned that part from the moment she appeared as Alexis, and brought Dynasty to a whole new level in the ratings.

I heard you had to blow Aaron Spelling to get into one of his shows. I bet our Joan would've had no trouble performing this service.

Not that I doubt that, R95. I'm sure you're right.

But Joan has a very selective memory in general. I think she likes to think she was a much bigger star than she actually was and she rewrites history in her own mind to flatter her ego.

Faye Dunaway wasn't offered Alexis R97.

She was offered Lady Ashley Mitchell.

It was actually Faye Dunaway for Sable on The Colbys.

For Alexis the short list was Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Raquel Welch and Jessica Walter (in that order).

Aaron wanted Angie Dickonson for Krystle's sister/Sammi Jo's mother, but for some reason that fell through and the role was never cast.

Here is Joan talking about Jessica Walter

R100 Elizabeth Taylor turnes down Dynasty, yet she agreed to appear on General Hospital.

Faye was offered both roles R100.

And it's also a shame she didn't accept Ashley Mitchell. I would've loved to have seen her in confrontation with Alexis.

Since DYNASTY was then the most watched TV show in the world at that point it would probably have been a highlight in her post "Mommie Dearest" career and she would've spared us Ali MacGraw and her eyebrows.

Although I'm glad she turned down Sable; no one could touch the perfection that was Stephanie Beacham.

R103 GH was short-term

Dynasty was long-term

Plus Liz was a fan of GH

r100, when she did GH, the show was the hottest show on TV, daytime or prime time. It was a cultural phenomenon. When she was approached about Dynasty, the show was not yet successful.

Plus she and Geary were fucking, so GH made sense.

Loren wanted too much money and Aaron Spelling was VERY miserly.

I've heard different variations even from Collins herself as to how she came to be Alexis.

After Pamela Sue Martin left they actually considered Kate Mulgrew as her replacement for a while.

Kate Mulgrew was too good an actress for the show. At that point, they needed someone like Pamela Sue Martin...just be charismatic and intelligent.

Genie Francis would have been the best Fallon

I think they should've just left her dead.

Season nine Emma Samms is my favorite Fallon.

I might be the only one but I never like Martin's Fallon.

WHET Kate Mulgrew? I thought she was gonna be the next Kate Hepburn or something.

Kate Mulgrew was way too stagey to play Fallon convincingly. Fallon was Zelda Fitzgerald incarnate. Pamela Sue Martin was PERFECT.

Mulgrew played Hepburn onstage in some play at some college a decade ago.

There was someone else they wanted for Fallon #2 although I can't remember whom. She was some Swedish or such TV star from the same time who from certain angles looked just like Martin.

Was there ever an article or statement out there why they recast Fallon with Emma Samms? I heard that they originally asked PSM to come back for the Colbys but she turned them down. Samm's Fallon was a completely re-tooled chatacter, had nothing from the old character. I thought even Amanda#1 was more Fallon than Fallon#2 ever was (ok, except season 9)

R106 actually Dallas was the hottest show at the time, with GH a close second

Ever notice how everyone wached soaps in the 80s, the ratings for daytime soaps were huge and then you had your big nighttime soaps.

From 83-85 4 of the top 10 highest rated shows in the country were primetime soaps.

[quote]Aaron wanted Angie Dickonson for Krystle's sister/Sammi Jo's mother, but for some reason that fell through and the role was never cast.

Dickinson was the original choice for Krystle and George Peppard for Blake when the show was in its early stages and titled OIL. Peppard filmed the first pilot with Evans, then he was fired and Forsythe brought in (a huge error IMO as Forsythe didn't have the stature or gravitas for the character). I don't know why Dickinson fell through. I didn't know that she was being considered for a later role.

[quote]Was there ever an article or statement out there why they recast Fallon with Emma Samms?

Per my memory, Esther Shapiro badly wanted Samms who was riding high on her GH fame and popularity. Shapiro believed that Samms' Q Rating would transfer seamlessly to DYNASTY. She also rationalized that because Alexis and Amanda were British, it wouldn't be a stretch for Fallon to suddenly acquire such an accent. Shapiro was willing to wait for Gloria Monty to release Samms from her GH contract, and there were major negotiations taking place.

I loved the early years.

I thought Tori Spelling suggested Samms to daddy after seeing her on GH. And the Shapiros wanted PSM back and were constantly asking her and getting rejected.

It was mentioned in another Dynasty thread that they hired Samms because she had a very high Q rating and were hoping she'd bring her GH audience with her. She was severely miscast.

R118 asks what happened to soaps. I contend they're still around, they're just billed as "reality" tv, and they're about a bunch of nobodies who can't act. But for some reason, the masses still tune in.

Because ABC aired both GH and Dynasty, for a few months Emma did both shows at the same time.

During that time Finola Hughes (Anna GH) was in a common-law relationship with Michael Pared (Prince Michael Dynasty)

I like PSM but Emma was more believable as Joan's daughter. Plus I liked her chemistry with John James.

DYN-nas-ty, not DY-Nas-ty!

R121 - Tori was about 9 then.

Aaron Spelling was such a hack, DYNASTY would've been better with a different show-runner.

Dynasty should be brought back, with the first episode somehow raising Claudia from the dead. I loved that crazy bitch.

Liars, they're all liars.

to Claudia... "Did you by that dress off the rack, dear?"

"DON'T HURT MY MOOOOOOOMMY!!!!!"

Emma's a wonderful Holly, but dear God, she was horrible miscast as Fallon.

She's right up there with Daniel Pilon as Alan on The Guiding Light in terms of horrible re-casts.

[quote]Emma's a wonderful Holly, but dear God, she was horrible miscast as Fallon.

Have you seen season nine, R133? Emma improved dramatically.

Fallon was written as less of a spitfire when Emma Samms was playing her on THE COLBYS than when Martin played her (particularly in the first two seasons).

Katharine Ross daughter stabbed her six times! She had to file a restraining order against her own daughter.

I loved how Alex was always so dismissive of Claudia, as if she didn't exist, referring to her as that "Blaisdale woman." Yes, I know it's Blaisdell, but Joan's pronunication sounded like "Blaisdale." It's almost as if Joan saw Pamela Bellwood as nothing but an afterthought either.

[quote]It's almost as if Joan saw Pamela Bellwood as nothing but an afterthought either.

Actually Joan said Bellwood and John James were her only two friends from DYNASTY.

Pamela Bellwood had more seniority on the show than Joan Collins.

[quote]Pamela Bellwood had more seniority on the show than Joan Collins.

Is that you, Pamela? Or are you just high?

I was 9 years old when Dynasty first started, and I grew up poor as hell in Eastern Arkansas. My dad died when I was a baby and my mom worked in a manufacturing plant to support me and my two brothers. We moved a lot back in those days. When my mom couldn't pay the rent, she'd just up and move instead of trying to talk to the landlord. Anyway, me and my two brothers always shared a room, no matter where we were living. (My oldest brother slept on a pallet on the floor because my mom honestly couldn't afford another bed and we didn't have a couch.) So when Wednesday night would roll around, I'd make a HUGE effort to clean our crummy house, which was always in disarray because my mom worked and my two straight brothers didn't care. My mom thought I was just being a good kid, but the reason I cleaned on Wednesday was because Dynasty was on, and for some reason it was just too much for me to watch all that glitz and glamor sitting in a dumpy house that was filthy. I mean, my mom did the best she could and I never blamed her, but Dynasty actually showed me, for the first time, that there was another way of life. No one will believe me, but I actually went to college and got my MBA in part because of Dynasty. It's amazing the influence that television can have. If it weren't for Dynasty, I could very well still be living in St. Francis County, Arkansas, trying to eke out an existence in that impoverished, desolate county. I owe a lot to Blake, Krystal and Alexis.

Beautiful, R140! Just beautiful!

I liked your story, too. Very touching.

Does anyone else love Alexis' sister, Caress?

She was fabulous.

Cassandra Morell was played by Kate O'Mara.

Debra Adair played Tracy Kendall. Debra also played Kate Winograd Roberts on Days, a role originated by Elaine Princi. The role is now played by Lauren Koslow. Postmenopausal Kate is now pregnant with Rafe's baby.

Sadly Kate's son killed himself recently.

I posted this earlier, what character did Wayne Northrop (Roman on Days) play on Dynasty? Was it the chauffeur in season1?

And I heard that Leann (Anna Dimera DAYS) Hunley was on Dynasty too, true?

[quote]Does anyone else love Alexis' sister, Caress?

I LOVED Caress' jacked-up face and her title sequence image (a cascade of diamonds flowing onto a piece of deep blue velvet). Was very sorry when she was underused and then dumped from the show.

"Hello, Alexis."

"What is it now, CASSIE?"

Kate Mara was a riot on AbFab as Patsy's sister Jacks.

Hey R140 did you by chance charm a king, a congressman, or an occasional aristocrat?

Leann (Anna Dimera DAYS) Hunley was Adam's wife Dana Carrington.

Wayne Northrop (Roman on Days) was the chauffeur in season 1. He character got dropped during the re-shuffling in season 2.

When he became white hot on Days the Shapiros re-activated his character, and planned to throw him in a hot romance with Catherine Oxenberg (Amanda).

After they signed him, they dropped Oxenberg in a contract dispute. When the new Amanda didn't work out, they tried pairing Wayne with Leslie Carrington.

That didn't work out and he left after one season.

I LOVED Caress too. However I lost interest so how did her story line end up? Can someone give me the abbreviated version of her character?

[quote] Can someone give me the abbreviated version of her character?

CRSS

No, R150, alas my goals there have remained sadly unfulfilled. I have, however, throughout my professional career when stumped with a tough decision thought to myself, "What would Blake Carrington do? Or better yet, "What would [italic]Alexis Carrington[/italic] do?!"

The king, congressman and aristocrat are still on the ol' bucket list, though. I shall update accordingly.

Caress was one of those characters who just vanished from the show. Officially she was going out of town to find dirt on Blake's brother Ben, but she never came back and was never referenced again (like Amanda).

Here's the scene where Caress gets sprung from the Venezuelan prison where she'd been held for years.

"We will miss you, senora."

"Of course you will. Style is a rarity in this world."

The spinoff that would have been a hit would have been the Golden Bullion Girls. A show with Alexis, Sable, and Caress.

Anybody else think Caress was written out because she was stealing her Sister Dearest's thunder???

[quote]Anybody else think Caress was written out because she was stealing her Sister Dearest's thunder???

Supposedly Diahann Carroll (who had more clout on the show than you'd think) didn't like her. She went to the producers and said there were too many bitchy characters on the show. They asked Kate back in season 8 and she turned them down.

Joan Collins' vs. Random House below

How fabulous would it have been if she wore the black and white suit from when Alexis makes her debut appearance at Blake's trial.

What does Pamela Sue Martin do for a living now?

r160 - maybe she lives.

Greer Garson was offered the role of Alexis' mother.

A late Dynasty episode, but vintage...

Yesterday I watched the episode where Dominique introduced herself to Alexis. It was a very campy scene with no meat to it. Typical for Dynasty's later seasons. Dominique was all snarky, arrogant and mysterious. And Alexis was all dismissive as usual, just a bit more than usual. Such a waste of airtime because really nothing was happening in that scene. Showed me agin how much the show was more about style than substance.

Also not getting Dominique's obsession with Alexis. She seems to be more important to her than Blake at this point. She hasn't revealed herself yet. At this point she is the myserious unknown, whereas next season she is all of a sudden the successful singer everybody knows.

Diahann Carroll was AWFUL and cringe worthy in that scene in Alexis' penthouse.

Dominique was such a boring character. I still don't know what exactly Dominique did in her three long years in Denver.

Someone else should have played "Dominique".

Pamela Sue Martin is a bit of a hippie in real life, and marches to her own drum.

I believe she is involved in holistic medicine and pushes some of her natural products.

Juliet Mills and Maxwell Caulfield are marriedin real life, and wound up playing distant cousins on Dynasty!

Joan Collins, Juliet Mills, Stephanie Beechman were all cousins on the show.

This is the MARY! est thread ever to grace DL.

There have been many "MARY!-er" threads, R168. But "Dynasty" was a very gay show.

Diahann Carroll was the Moldavia of characters, created with no purpose other than shock value.

They wanted the headlines of TV's first black bitch. And they got them. And then, as noted, nothing happened.

I could totally see Dynasty revived like they do with Dallas. Just doubt that any network is courageous enough to try seeing Dallas' rocky ride. They would have to make a serious attempt though like they did with Dallas, not something totally un ambitious like Charlies Angels, the latest Spelling reincarnation.

I'd like to see a reboot of Dynasty on HBO, or somebody with standards.

Pamela Sue Martin apparently owns/leads a theatre company in Idaho and shows up for a lot of reunions, presumably for a fee.

To see how everybody's aged, follow link.

R168, thank you!

I also started the 'selfish bastard cuts in line at the bagel shop thread!'

A Dynasty comeback would not be flattering for Linda and Joan. A reboot would die nastily.

By the way, Joan has a big fat gunt these days.

One thing I noticed back then and remember now is that Joan used her own hairstyles in the first few episodes. It's the same basic style she wore in Tales from the Crypt and Empire of the Ants.

After a while it seems the Dynasty hair and wardrobe departments started to pay attention and ramped up the glamour, including more appropriate and sophisticated hairdos.

R48 Agree, Beacham was excellent, much better than Collins. SB had best one liners.

[all posts by tedious troll removed.]

[all posts by tedious troll removed.]

r164, they changed Carroll's character so many times up until the last minute that they were caught in just giving us a stunt casting grab at attention and playing on the Alexis vs another diva schtick.

That scene made sense if Dominique was going to turn out to be Cecil Colby's secret first wife, which they were thinking of doing. It even made sense if they went with their other plan to make her Kirby's biological mother. They even thought of making her Blake's first wife that he married on a whim in his youth, making his marriages to Alexis and Krystle invalid. Last minute rewrites made her his sister, and her instant "vandetta" against Alexis - established on her first episode - was just silly and petty.

They had no clue what to do with Dominique, ignoring the full potential of dramatic impact she could have had on the family, taking over Denver-Carrington and bringing Blake to a place where Alexis could only wish to take him.

She was an empty character in an already empty show.

They also wanted Doris Day to play Krystle's mother, which is weird considering they got Day's romantic leading man Rock Hudson to play Krystle's new romantic leading man.

John DeLorean's ex-wife Christina Ferrare was offered bundles of money to star on Dynasty in the third or forth season, but for some reason, the deal fell through.

Raquel Welch was asked to play Lady Ashley Mitchell. She turned them down. Ditto for Richard Chamberlain and the role of Daniel Reece.

And, of course, everyone must know that they wanted DL favorite Melissa Sue Anderson to play Kirby Anders.

Why wasn't MSA Kirby?

The Shapiros' artful vision for Dynasty - played out brilliantly in season 1 - would have been protected and preserved in today's cable TV genre. Network greed and audience whimsy ruined what could have been three or four more years of brilliant sophisticated drawing room storytelling.

Just like other "almost-beens" r183, negotiations probably fell through. ABC and Spelling offered her the role.

The Shapiros wanted Wayne Rogers to play Mark Jennings, but ABC regrettably stepped in and requested a more hunkier actor for the role. They got little known and wooden actor Geoffrey Scott, who was hired simply because he resembled Tom Selleck at the time and ended up making little out of the role. Originally, Mark was supposed to be a much bigger character with more of an impact on the lives of Blake and Krystle - season 3's Matthew Blaisdell and Nick Tusconni combined.

Both Emma Samms and Ray Abruzzo are pretty active on Twitter and talk to fans. Ray is a HUGE lefty who calls out the Tea Party, House Republicans, Palin, etc. and also very pro-gay marriage.

[quote]Joan Collins went from acting in her sister's porno movies like Slut and Bitch, to enchanting a nation when she pulled up her veil on the Dynasty witness stand.

Mary!

I think Stephen being gay and Blake's response was probably the most powerful part of Dynasty. To put an out gay man with a lover on TV in Regan era 80's was pretty bold, even if they did kill off his lover and marry Stephen off to a woman. And Al Corley was sex on a stick.

r167, don't forget Katharine Ross too.

Blake raped Krystle.

r190 holy shit I totally forgot Blake raped Krystal.

He raped his wife and then a couple of nights later he killed his son`s gay lover. Blake was bad ass.

The irony of Fallon was that she was Blake`s daughter through and through - sharp, clever, ruthless, ambitious - but in his patriarchal world, she could be nothing but his little princess; the frustration of not being able to fully realize her strengths led her to a reckless and decadent lifestyle. Their relationship was based on the emperor Augustus of Rome and his notorious daughter Julia.

Meanwhile, Steven, the heir apparent, was not only adverse to his father`s style of cold ambition, but he was also gay, which in Blake`s world, meant absolute failure. Blake had a perfect heir in Fallon but he instead set out to reshape his son into what he wanted. The dynamics of these parent-child relationships were brilliantly mapped out in the first season.

By the end of the second season, Steven was gone and Fallon was an unbearable shrew. Come the third season, we saw Fallon get weaker and weaker in the shadow of her more formidable mother and Steven was recast with a stereotypical soap opera actor in a stereotypical soap opera trope of plastic surgery and amnesia. You can map out the decline of quality in this show with the reckless breakdown of the complex Carrington children.

Alexis killed Blystal's child just to watch it die.

In Reno R194

[quote]For Alexis the short list was Elizabeth Taylor,

I wish I could find the link, because it was really interesting, but some time back I read that they REALLY were hoping to get Taylor right up the last minute. In fact, the actress we see entering the court room at the end of season one was not Joan Collins, but an uncredited stand in, disguised behind over-sized sunglasses, hat and veil. They even used one of the oldest tricks in the book in helping make Taylor's zaftig figure look slimmer for the cameras: put her in a white suit with black side panels.

They originally asked Sophia Loren to play Blake`s ex-wife Madeline for what was supposed to be a limited amount of episodes. That didn`t pan out (Loren wasn`t interested), so they asked Elizabeth Taylor. This didn`t work out (Taylor was expensive), so they actually were ready to offer the role to Jessica Walter, who auditioned and was much more affordable. It was at the 11th hour that Candy Spelling recommended Joan Collins (from an old Love Boat or Fantasy island episode she saw her in) to her husband and the rest is herstory.

The veiled first Mrs Carrington (yet to be named Alexis) we saw entering the courtroom at the end of the first season was a friend of one of the producers.

Speaking of almost-beens, I would love to see the footage of George Peppard as Blake. Has anyone see it?

More shots of Peppard as Blake:

[quote]The veiled first Mrs Carrington (yet to be named Alexis) we saw entering the courtroom at the end of the first season was a friend of one of the producers.

Do we know her name? I would love to see what she really looked like.

I've never come across any info as to who that lady is, other than she was a friend of a producer who was a last-minute stand-in.

Whatever happened to the Pollocks? Have they continued writing?

A simple Google search led me to this info:

Model Maggie Wickman plays the role of the veiled Alexis in the season 1 finale.

This might be her:

This is definitely Maggie Wickman:

Found this on a trivia site:

"In the 29 May 1982 edition of Radio Times, Dynasty actor Dale Robertson (Walter Lankershim) commented of the programme "I think it is marvellously acted, splendidly directed, crisply characterised. But I do not approve of all those immoral goings on. There's everything from men eyeing men, to women groping after married men; even the horses are homosexual."

I do remember not even being a teenager back then and trying to replicate the very ash blonde hair of Linda Evans. At home, people! (Linda Evans' color was so greyish, that my cousin insisted she had premature greying...)

Anyway: whatever I was doing, I was doing wrong, because it always came out with unwanted gold, brassy undertones. Yikes! I learned years later that it was because my natural color had red undertones.

Clip from Soapnet, now off the air. Pity.

Blake was the voice of Charlie on Charlie's Angels.

Here's a scene with Caress. Funny as hell:

The proto Alexis was Maggie Wickman. Have never seen the photo at R202.. amazing find.

It was an awesome cliffhanger. Simple but WTF?

They'd mentioned the mother in passing during S1 but so briefly and simply I interpreted it as backstory... never saw the first wife coming.

I remember that season premiere got pushed back and pushed back because the World Series kept going to another game... didn't air until almost November. I was almost in coniption fits... the Mary!est I've been in my life.

The "reunion" movie (which was supposed to tie up all the loose ends) was the most tragic thing ever on TV, and I'm including the Kennedy assassination and the Challenger explosion in that.

The network or production company was too cheap to rebuild the sets, so everything was done on location. They solved the problem with the Carrington mansion by moving Blake and Krystle into a fucking TRACT HOME until the end, when they "came home" -- and then shot the triumphant return in a hotel lobby that was supposed to be the Carrington mansion. Alexis' fabulous office with the tusk desk was replaced by a generic office in a high-rise.

When Gordon Thomson couldn't do it, they didn't rewrite the script -- just recast Adam with a total stranger. No Sable; instead, they brought back Kirby Anders for whatever reason.

A goddamn DISGRACE.

They also threw in Michael Brandon for a bizarre return to the triumphant years of ABC After School Specials.

I assume the Shaprios had fondness to Beller and Brandon and threw them a little income during their last shot at calling the shots.

Shit Alexis says:

I never saw this late confrontation between the two:

I do remember that first season, Dynasty was very, very good. Season 2 was OK but a decline from Season 1. Then it became the increasing camp-fest it ultimately ended up being. I stopped watching it in the 86-87 season since it wasn't any good anymore. t always thought Falcon Crest had a similar trajectory. Its early seasons were very good, but then it became all about outrageous plots and campy scenes. The season they added Apollonia was just dreadful.

Knots Landing always stayed the most grounded, and not surprisingly lasted longer than any of the other nighttime soaps. Dallas stayed a bit more grounded, but by the end it was too many new characters no one cared about, and Larry Hagman made J.R. far too campy at that point.

Something was 'off' about Samms as Fallon. I think most people just picture her with an English accent, so it was hard to digest her as the all American heiress.

I found the first season dull. Only the presence of Forsythe, Evans, and Martin kept me tuned in. Only with the death of Ted Dinard did that first season start to have some life in it. The addition of Collins further jump started the show. Then it was downhill when they went too far into camp.

From the first season you got the idea that Steven and Claudia were going to bet the stars. Claudia was always my favorite but once the show went glam Pamela Bellwood just didn't fit in as an actress.

The first two seasons of Dallas also were not nearly as exciting as the two or three that followed.

There's a little flash of original recipe Collins when she concedes "Well, I can understand that" during the crazy Krystle scene.

Beacham is very much like Collins in her first season in that she can sell almost anything.

It's so evident they were setting up Beacham to become the next wife... I assume they'd have come up with some (non-pregnancy) related reason Blake and Sable had to marry.

Beacham and Linda Evans have great chemistry in those clips. Their warmth for each other is very engaging and believable.

r219, I find the end of that clip so hilariously brilliant, where Alexis whispers "Well, you won't be around for much longer..." It's so gallows humor.

OK, sometimes this shit is still really, really good... around :41

"Blake didn't kill Roger but whoever did did him a favor. I'm sure the bottom of that lake was warmer than your bed."

Sess-ill, died of a heart attack...

Yesterday I stumbled on a Season 2 marathon on Pop (formerly TV Guide Network). They hadn't gotten as far as the catfight but showed Alexis firing the gun.

Linda Evans was actually really good in the hospital scenes after losing her baby. She was crying so hard her face turned red. It was odd to see because Krystle is usually so composed.

Those sluts and whores were CRAZY

DYNASTY was nothing without Alexis.

NOTHING.

Just watched an episode that featured an appearance from 70/80s hunk Colby Chester.

Fuck he was hot!

Would love to re-watch the first two seasons. Before this show became total camp, it was actually very intelligently written and well acted.

If you think about it The Real Housewives shows are basically Dynasty rip-offs. After Alexis became such a popular character the show runners introduced more women with attitude and come up with rather poor reasons why they were in a feud. Real Housewives are ALL about women and their pathetic attempt of feuding and back stabbing each other.

A lot of shows change direction after their initial first season (because of the TV stations' CEOs meddling and showrunners tweaking the show to appeal to new, and more viewers).

Later season of Dynasty were just really poor excuses to set up a big showdown between Blake, Crystal, and Alexis with the rest of the cast having their B-plots and moving along the main goal to have Alexis face off her opponent (Blake, Crystal, Dominique, Caress, etc.).