I haven't seen that ep in 15-20 years, but I can still hear Joan Collins' "Henry...", greeting Henry Kissinger, as though she's standing next to me. I remember Alexis taking one look at Claudia's dress and sniffing that it was "clearly off the rack" then snarking that she had seen several women in it already, and Steven comes back that "none of them look as beautiful in it as my wife."

Where are my housekeys? That I couldn't tell you.

Wow, I can't believe this show has a thread here. I usually come to TWoP for Six Feet Under. A more middle-class soap opera. ha!

I watched Dynasty through its best years, IMO, from 1981-1984. I went to college and stopped watching after the 'real' Fallon left. PSM really grew in that role. I still didn't buy her remarriage to Jeff, though.

I think some major shark jumping occurred in the middle of Season 4. It was obvious to me that PSM leaving altered some of the originally planned storylines. I think that the writers probably had her marriage to Peter already written. That would have been fun to watch in Season 5!

It didn't make any sense to me that she falls in love w/ Jeff merely months after telling him that she didn't want to go backwards.

And the Kirby sick pregnancy storyline rang false to me too. Up until Krystle and Blake's remarriage, they emphasized how healthy she was, then suddenly....

I got the feeling that the actress wanted out of the show too. The way it had been going up until then, it looked like there would be a fun custody battle in Season 5.

So she agrees to marry Adam? WTF? Ew. How many times did they actually sleep together before Kirby left town?

That doesn't make sense considering all the nightmares she had at the beginning of Season 4 about just that sort of thing happening.

OK, I DIED seeing Sammy Jo bopping around the Carrington mansion with a boombox playing the Muzak versions of "Thriller" and "Girls Just Want To Have Fun". Too, too hysterical.

I thought she worked better being bitchier than nauseatingly sweet, but damn, Kirby was useless. Good riddance.

Not so much to Pamela Sue Martin's Fallon. Sigh.

And it's odd just how many little details I find myself remembering considering I haven't seen this particular crop of episodes in 20 years.

It's becoming more and more evident that these episodes are (obviously) edited for syndication, which is a shame. I was hoping that SoapNet wouldn't cut as much, but I've noticed lately that the episode summaries I read on the internet, as well as the episode descriptions on my digital cable service, mention scenes that were obviously cut.

For example, one of last week's episode description mentioned Alexis having nightmares about Mark which were cut. Today's episode description mentions Jeff finding out that Fallon died with Peter DeVilbis... kind of a major plot point that was also obviously cut (well, he did learn she was "dead", but no who with).

Anyway, I know it happens all the time in syndication, but felt I could come here and vent about it anyway. :-)

Sort of OT, but related to the cut episode thing--
I read in TV Guide last week that the average number of commercial/promo minutes in a 3 hour block of prime time network was in the 20s in the 80s and is now 52!!
So I immediatly thought back to Knots, Dallas and Dynasty on Soapnet and figured they must have been shaved to fit the new ad-heavy way of doing things.
Although, I would say, during Knots reruns on Soapnet, the last commercial break sometimes only has 1 ad or promo for about 1 minute instead of 3-4 like normal.

i was watching soapnet yesterday and caught a first-season episode of dynasty.


it was like watching a different show - A GOOD ONE! it wasn't campy at all. and fallon's character really shines without alexis around to steal all the thunder. alexis may have brought in the ratings, but i thought this show (based on just this one viewing) was a heck of lot better at the beginning. i think it's a shame they ended up taking the cartoonish route they did. i liked this somewhat more understated dynasty a lot better.


steven, fallon, matthew and claudia were all intriguing characters. and blake was coming off rather villianous at the beginning.


i think the same thing about dallas. they are showing some first season episodes of it. it's FANTASTIC. back when j.r. was just one piece of the pie, it was awesome. the character of jock is terrific. in the first season, the ewings seemed like real people!

Agreed. I thought Dynasty's wedding episode between Blake and Krystle was done perfectly. I asked my parents, who were big Dynasty fans back in the day, and they said they didn't think the show was campy at all. If anything, they said, Dallas was the worst offender of that.

Edited because Alexis wasn't even there at that time.

i think both shows became quite campy, but i think dynasty outdid dallas in that regard. dallas always stayed a little bit true to its roots, IMHO.


but both were much better when they weren't successful!

Jeff was so fucking dreamy. Fallon is a skank-ho. TWoP should so recap Dynasty.

i couldn't get over how YOUNG he looked. i never remember thinking of him as such a baby at the time. but then, i guess i was at the time too! LOL! (i think john james are i the same age. i'm 41. but i have no idea about him really.)

He was born in 1956. He was yummy back in '81 but he aged so horribly. To quote My Big Fat Greek Wedding, he looks so....OLD!

About Jeff, he was really dorky in the beginning. I wouldn't have gone for him either if I was Fallon. I can actually see what she likes about Uncle Cecil. He's way more intriguing and has a certain mystique.

Steven was more interesting too. He was obviously a decent person but he could be brutally honest too. I like how he warns Jeff about Fallon.

Blake was better as a villainous character. He creeped me out when he put those two dogs on Walter L. Later in the series, Blake is so watered down because of Joan Collins. He does retain some of the meanness and wiles with her but he's a sap compared to what he was in the beginning. Was that Krystle's influence? heh.

I think the first season of Dynasty was fantastic. Not campy and somewhat realistic. Watching that and watching the 5th season eps on SoapNet, it seems like two different shows.

This whole season (1984-85) seems utterly contrived now that I'm watching it in reruns. Before, things were over the top and campy, but at least made a certain amount of warped sense...but now, it just seems like couples are having arguments and splitting up and cheating from out of nowhere. I halfway expect for there to be an exchange like, "Why?"/"Don't blame me...the script called for it"! Amanda is grating on me and for the love of God, can Adam ever go after someone original? He's like a romantic parasite! Furthermore, I don't see what the big deal is if Krystle wants to pursue a career of her own...

Whew! I feel better. I do really like Dominique, though...but again, I don't see why Brady's blowing a gasket over things.

In the guest star arena, I didn't realize how adorable Bill Campbell was back then, and Ali McGraw is her usual riotously awful self...I'm probably the only person who laughed instead of cried at Love Story. But I've heard that she's admitted she was a horrible actress in interviews, so I'll at least give her points for refreshing self-awareness.

Just two words for tomorrow's episode, folks:

MOLDAVIAN MASSACRE!!!

Whee!



So true. When Steven invited Luke to the wedding, I kept shouting "No!! Don't go! Don't go!"



God, she was badder than bad, wasn't she? She can go to the wedding. Heh heh heh...

Also, I just watched Friday's episode, which introduced Emma Samms as Fallon. When they cut to the new portrait over the fireplace, I just about spit out the water I was drinking!

God, I love this show :)

Emma Sams ruined that character, IMHO.

The Moldavia connection is soooooo over the top, with Amanda's future wedding to one of the dorkiest characters ever to appear on Dynasty. I love the re-emergence of Sammy Jo but the "Rita" connection promises to be another ridiculous segue.

I have come to adore the much romancing Jeff--is there any woman he doesn't fall in love with? He's halfway convincing in his adoration of the droll Ali McGraw. Was there no makeup left for her after Alexis left the makeup artists?

On a sadder note, I'm glad we had the chance to see Rock Hudson in what was his last appearance as an actor. Even though he was so much thinner than in previous roles, movies or McMillan and Wife, he remains one of my favorite actors of the time. He was among the last of the Hollywood glamour years--so handsome.

Where can I find recent pictures of John James and Bill Campbell?

You're kidding, you don't like Prince Michael? I know he married that weed Amanda, but he was terribly handsome. I can't remember what actually happened with them in the end - they fade out of my memory after the wedding massacre.

But I DO remember Alexis escaping disguised as a nun!

In one recent episode, I remember she was trying to be all flirty with Blake and was like, "Do you want me to be a villain? Or a harem girl?" Because apparently being a decent actress is out of the question.


Oh--and that was one of the most all-time jawdropping displays of stupidity I've ever seen. OK, so revolutionaries are spraying the church with machine gun fire and everyone's hitting the ground and playing possum. So what does this dipshit do? Whip out her camera, pop up, and start taking pictures!!! Yeah, the revolutionaries took really kindly to that. I mean, she may as well have just held up a huge sign saying, "SHOOT ME NOW!!! PLEASE!!!" Moron.


I know. That was hysterical. What's even more ironic is that they didn't get the original picture until after Pamela Sue Martin left; Krystle gave it to Blake as a present to remember her by.



Aaaaand this would be when the show officially became a cartoon. It's about where I checked out growing up, and now that I've caught up on everything I missed in prior seasons, it's where I'm checking out now.


I see both your points. He was a dud. But a very handsome dud.

Ok, so I hadn't seen the Moldavian Massacre in 20+ years, but I remember watching it with my jaw dropped back then (after all, no internet meant no spoilers!). Seeing it again made me realize just how goofy and - yes, I admit it - FUN it was!



What strikes me as even funnier is that it's clearly NOT Ali MacGraw in that scene, nor is it her snapping pictures when Amanda's getting dressed and the sun miraculoulsy comes out just in time for the bloodshed. Since I recorded it, I was able to go back and check. She's definitely sitting next to Luke and behind Jeff in the group shots, but once the massacre starts, her contract must have let her turn tail and run. The funniest part is right before she and Jeff get shot and she never takes the camera away from her (non Ali) face!

Finally, when they show her and Jeff lying there, I must admit she looked more beautiful than she did all season. Which is another point... did they ALL get shot and thus were ALL unconcious, or did a lot of them smarten up and play possum? Cheesy fun!

Anyone notice the irony of Luke saving Claudia? (I had forgotten about that, too!)



You know, I must have felt the same way. I was talking to a friend yesterday at work (another Dynasty fanatic - in fact, we took over the TV at work so we could watch the killing spree), and I was saying I don't remember much after this episode. I remember the Rita plotline so I think I stuck it out for one more season, but I don't remember the 2nd Amanda, Blake running for office, etc., so I probably missed the last couple of seasons. I'll watch them this time, tho!

I did stick it out to the end, but things definitely start to get woolly in my memory after this point.

Steven did a bad job of playing possum. When they zoom out to the painting-like of people hunched "dead" over one another, you can see Steven moving at the right of your TV screen. Tsk tsk.

I'm watching the Dysfunctional Family episodes, and doesn't it seem like the drama regarding Steven's sexuality is just so contrived? I live in a very conservative part of the country, and even I kept finding myself saying to myself, "God, people don't SAY things like this to gay people. Not even then."

A friggin' triple post. Doesn't anyone watch this show anymore?

I was really moved by yesterday's DysFam episode. I don't want to wait a whole week...does Blake rape Krystle or not?

Oh my God. I am so hooked on this show now! I had no idea how good it was back when it actually aired.

So does Stephen get together with that Chris O'Donnell Doppelganger Senator or was that eighteen minute sweaty fight scene in that gym with absolutely no one else around just subtext?

And did anyone notice Patsy Stone's sister....as Alexis's sister?

That's only the beginning. Moldavian Massacre still sucked. I guess it gets bad around 1984, when it started hitting #1 and people got big egos.

hee! As Caress, right? My sister were amazed back in the day that someone would actually name their kid after a bar of soap.

I dunno if "sucked" is the right word. I think that once the airwaves got saturated with night-time soaps (Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, Flacon Crest, etc), the producers wisely took a page from their daytime predecessors and upped the camp value of the show. Sure, the plotlines got more and more ridiculous, but watching it all over again after twenty years makes me think that maybe the camp factor in later seasons was a bit intentional. Kind of a "let's see how far we can go with this thing".

For example, I didn't remember many of the elements of the Rita plotline, but watching it unfold again after all this time has been fun. Is it ANY of it even remotely plausible? Of course not (especially when you know Linda Evans could take George Hamilton with one hand tied behind her back!). Will we all be rolling our eyes when it's over and Krystal manages to forgive Sammy Jo yet again? Of course we will, but who cares? I sure don't. I'm just enjoying the ride.

Two words:

Dueling. Krystals.

I think the same thing happened to Dynasty that happened to 90210. (Both produced by Aaron Spelling). 90210 started out as an interesting look at twins who move to Beverly Hills from Minnesota and the cultural conflicts that ensued. By the time Aaron had finished with it, a lot of the original characters had left and it was a soap opera. One of Aaron's talents is for figuring out what brings in the viewers and whittling the show down to those elements. For instance: the addition of Joan Collins increased viewership. Ergo more Alexis.

I have to say that watching "Dysfunctional Family" reruns (season one) alongside the season six reruns, I like 'em both. I LOVE the original Fallon and Stephen. I love the brother/sister chemistry they had and how the show was about a family and a business and had a lot to say about wealth, loyalty and class. But then I love the Dueling Krystals and the ridiculous Moldavia plotline.

I think 85-86 was probably the last season worth watching, for the camp nirvana you mentioned. (Dueling Krystles! Alexis dresses as a nun! All this and George Hamilton, too!) But after this, even the camp laughs aren't really there as much. It's like the later seasons of Melrose Place (or 90210 as you mentioned), where most of the characters you care about are either gone or burnt out.


Agreed. Pamela Sue Martin rocked. She seemed to know just the right mix of camp and seriousness to bring to things. And I actually really liked Claudia and that whole storyline of trying to put her life back together and find a purpose, whereas in later seasons she was just an annoying, whining shrew.

I know I said Claudia looks like Peppermint Patty, but she also looks kinda like Carrie Bradshaw, no?

I think it was completely intentional. I can't beleive the writers wrote this stuff thinking it would be considered realistic drama. Giving Krystle a doppelganger (i.e. putting Linda Evans in a bad brown wig) so Sammy Jo can use her to get at Sammy Jo's money is pure campy soap.

I beleive this season was also the same one where "The Colbys" was launched as well, so Dynasty was pretty much peaking in terms of its popularity.

And Gustave, I saw the Dysfunctional Family rerun like two weeks ago. I had to giggle when we find out Lindsay's big trauma is that she is....illegitimate! And her parents were forced to live their miserable lives all because of her. It's all very silly. Though I'm still surprised that they had Steven being quasi-gay in 1981. I see why the first season did poorly though, pre-Alexis the show is fairly boring.

Count me in as a Pamela Sue Martin fan. I didn't know how intergal she was to the show until she left. She was the spoiled little rich girl, but at the same time she made see why Jeff was crazynuts about her. Emma Samms, on the other hand, seemed like a Stepford Wife.

Emma Samms totally killed Fallon, and in a sense, Dynasty for me. I think the second season was the best, where everything Alexis did was riveting and interesting and dare I say? A little realistic. At least compared to later seasons.

I can't put my finger on it, but Pamela Sue Martin just made Fallon more enjoyable for me. Word to the Stepford Wife comparison with Emma Samms. She just seemed so...dead.



When revolutionaries storm a royal wedding, shoot everyone in sight, and yet only two minor, unimportant characters die, I call that an anticlimax.

Word. She was really good. I'm bummed that she disappeared.

I also think a lot of made PSM's performance as Fallon so great was that Alexis hadn't appeared yet and Fallon was the "bitch" of the show. Her conflict with Krystle was just so much more powerful and realistic because Krystle was her stepmother. Meanwhile Alexis and Krystle's conflict was just a one dimensional cat fight over a man (which had its charms too, but still....)

I also liked the way that PSM had the "spoiled rich girl" routine down really well. She walked and talked like a privileged little bitch -- the way she applied toenail polish while she fought with her husband, for instance. Whereas Emma Samms and Catherine Oxenberg spoke in these quasi-British accents to pump up the luxe quotient, PSM didn't need to because her performance spoke for itself.

I think you're right on that, but Fallon wasn't just a bitch. At least to me, she may have disliked Krystle, but you also saw the side of her that was dedicated to her brother. For example, when she talked with Steven about his being gay (or straight depending on the episode), you could tell she actually cared about her brother, and the conversation wasn't a "You're gay, that's wrong, change now." thing. She actually seemed to want to understand him. Also, she married Jeff Colby to help save her father's business as well.


Exactly. I think after catfight 4,347 it lost its originality. (Though it's not like I want them to stop with them, they make the show fun).

I agree. They did a great job originally casting the Carrington kids, and a horrible job recasting them. But the absolute worst? Fauxmanda. That hair! That flat accent! At least they wrote her out fast.

I barely even remember Fauxamanda.


This discussion on Pamela Sue Martin makes me a little sad that she just fell off the radar screen.

Oh man--you're lucky. Seriously--one of the worst recasts ever. I mean, Amanda worked my last nerve no matter who played her, but whoever came up with the brilliant idea to recast a beautiful, glamorous Brit (accentwise, at least) with a dowdy, plain American needed to be shot by Moldavian revolutionaries. You know it's bad when even her attempts to fluff her hair "sultrily" in the opening credits have you in hysterics.

Poor Karen Cellini. Not only a bad actress, but not as attractive as Catherine Oxenberg and at least quite a few years older (and it showed!). And let's not forget how silly the opening credits were, with London Bridge behind her when she's no longer British.

The opening credit I love is Heather Locklear when the safe door is opening behind her. What is that move?

I kind of liked Fauxmanda. (don't hurt me!!!). I'm really only saying this because I hated Catherine Oxenburg with the passion of a thousand suns and Karen Cellini had an American accent and didn't seem like such a spoiled twit. She still doesn't hold a candle to Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon. No one does.

My favorite opening credit is Stephen's. The season before he's ripping off his bowtie like he's going to fuck someone. This season, it's the same gesture but not quite as passionate or confident. It's like, "Um, okay, the bowtie's off. Should we, um, do it now?"

Mine's still Pamela Sue Martin turning around all melodramatically surprised.

The lamest? Pamela Bellwood. She flips on a light. Whoopee.

hee! His is one of the best credit scenes.


Word. And Krystle's. Turn, look at camera aaaaaand...smile blankly while your winged bangs catch the light just right.

I used to think it was the actress, but then I saw the final season, where she seemed suddenly alive. She must have been directed that way.

Mind you, I still hated her Australian? British? accent.



And yet she never flipped on the light upstairs.

I think her character had the best exit in the entire series.

In the earlier seasons, she's staring at someone and talking to them. She looks like a Stepford Wife, and there's a sky background so I guess she's on the beach because I think she's in a bathing suit.

Agreed. That and the whole...Fallon was abducted by aliens storyline..yeah, and they took her brain too!

I LOVED the Pamela Sue Martin Dynasty days. I couldn't wait for Jeff to dump Kirby and get back with Fallon.

Rimshot!

I actually liked Pamela back during the first season when her character (and the other "middle class" Blaisdales) were presented as a contrast to the wealthy Carringtons. Especially since there was this sense that the Blaisdales could have been Carrington-wealthy but for some missteps on the part of Matthew. I could totally sympathize with Pamela trying to keep her marriage together, trying to keep her mental health together and obsessing on Krystle. And I LOVED her various affairs, especially that night she spent at that single's bar being hit on by that married Xerox copier salesman (or whatever he did for a living).

But then Matthew died, she married Stephen and then Jeff and just started wandering the halls of the Carrington estate sniping at people and ignoring her split ends. It was like, "what the fuck are you doing on this show, bitch?"

And also? What was up with Alexis's hair during the "Black and White Ball"? She had this ponytail that had been sprayed, fashioned into this arch and then attached to the other side of her head. It was like her hairstylist had put a handle on her head.

And let's be honest... the woman could not put on lipstick to save her life (unless her lips really were that misshapen!)

Other bizarre opening credits: all the mysterious hands. Kirby's unseen escort, the woman futzing with Ben's tuxedo, etc.

I always liked Leann Hunley's opening credit, tho...

Did Heather Locklear get a nose job or a voice coach? She was distinctly nasally when she was first on the series.



Hee!

I know Fallon and Jeff were supposed to be the Juliet and Romeo of the series, but I never found them to have a spark of chemistry.