Dynasty II: The Colbys

Should opening titles have retained Dynasty II

  • Absolutely

  • No way. It was its own show.


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Lee

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Why did producers drop Dynasty II from the opening title by the 5th episode? Would ratings have faired better had they kept Dynasty II as part of the formula?

 

Alexis

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I always thought it was just to really establish a link to the parent show and to get people to understand the concept. I didn't think it was ever meant to be the permanent title of the show. Maybe I'm wrong though.
 

Willie Oleson

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I wish they had kept the DYNASTY II part. It looks special.

edit: oops, sorry, I hadn't noticed the poll option.
 
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Carrie Fairchild

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I always thought that Dynasty II: The Colbys was a bit of a clunky title and they were only using it to establish the connection between the two shows. But I think that was part of the problem. They tied them in so closely to each other at the beginning that you had to be a Dynasty viewer to take in some of what was going on in The Colbys and vice versa. Also, people who weren't huge fans of Dynasty may have been put off from sampling The Colbys because they figured it was just going to be more of the same. When in fact, it grew into it's own series in my opinion, especially in season two. I think that the setups of Knots Landing and Melrose Place were good ways of establishing distinct new shows. You didn't have to watch their parent shows to enjoy them. Whereas even now, you see people asking what sequence they should watch Dynasty and The Colbys in, in order to get the overlapping storylines straight. Anyway, I went off on one there. As I said at the start, I didn't feel it was a great title.
 

Gabriel Maxwell

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A paper noted on December 11, 1985: "In a move that will no doubt send tremors throughout the industry, ABC has announced that, beginning this week, DYNASTY II: THE COLBYS will simply be known as THE COLBYS".

I imagine the sarcasm had something to do with the fact the much-hyped spin-off quickly plummeted from the 9th to the 46th place in the ratings within that first month on the air. And yet just before Christmas, ABC gave it a full season of 24 episodes (upping the order from the standard 13).
 

AndyLaird

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It's the "II" that goes too far, I think. They should have gone for a franchise approach and just called it Dynasty: The Colbys, but then keep that as a permanent name.

The original could have stayed as Dynasty but could also have been renamed Dynasty: The Carringtons.

Or they could have gone truly NCIS and called the new show Dynasty: Los Angeles, but I don't think that works so well - it should be the name of the dynasty.
 

Matthew Blaisdel

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I loved that Dynasty II title as well. My heart ran so fast when i first saw that, it looked so awesome and majestic and still does imo.

Oh and Gabriel, love your new signature pics! :D
 
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Matthew Blaisdel

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In Germany it was actually called "The Empire - The Colbys" :)
 

Willie Oleson

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I think DOLLARS is a good alternative title. Or maybe for the The Colbys II spin-off (the Russians)

So then it would be
DYNASTY II
THE COLBYS II
DOLLARS
 

Gabriel Maxwell

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Would ratings have faired better had they kept Dynasty II as part of the formula?

I think they would've fared better if they had kept The Colbys on Wednesdays at 10pm after Dynasty (which is where the premiere episodes scored such high ratings). At least for one season, till the viewing audiences got hooked on the new show. Hotel could've worked at 8pm.

But they thought people would immediately follow it to another night - and not just any night, but Thursday which was dominated by NBC sitcoms - based on the Dynasty brand alone. Wrong! The show wasn't (and couldn't have been) strong enough to anchor a separate night, yet.

In Germany it was actually called "The Empire - The Colbys" :)

And it was the same title from the pilot till the UFO episode. Dynasty was of course known in Germany as The Denver Clan.

You always had fun titles in Germany. For instance, the North & South mini-series was known as Torches in Storm, while Moonlighting was called A Model and a Snoop. I wonder why the translators thought the original titles wouldn't work on the local market.

Which brings back nice memories of waiting for the latest issue of Bravo magazine to check the latest spoilers / photos from new episodes of Dynasty. Ah, those were the days.



Oh and Gabriel, love your new signature pics! :D

Total geil! :p
 
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Michael Torrance

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I imagine the sarcasm had something to do with the fact the much-hyped spin-off quickly plummeted from the 9th to the 46th place in the ratings within that first month on the air.

That's because despite the title, it wasn't DYNASTY II though many wanted it to be. Granted at that point even original DYNASTY did not feel like the show it once was, but as to the title: If it were DYNASTY II, they would have brought a lot of the characters over in season 8, and not just the two that were part of the original show. Whatever integration they tried on early on (especially the first 6 DYNASTY S6 episodes) went out the window soon. Mind you, I am not suggesting a clone show was the right approach, just that despite ABC and Esther Shapiro claiming the two shows were two peas in a pod, that was never the case.

But they thought people would immediately follow it to another night - and not just any night, but Thursday which was dominated by NBC sitcoms - based on the Dynasty brand alone. Wrong! The show wasn't (and couldn't have been) strong enough to anchor a separate night, yet.

As mentioned, at that point, DYNASTY itself was sliding in the ratings, so the brand name was not what it was a year earlier. Based on the forum's soapaholics embrace of the COLBYS (and despite my own immunity to its perceived charm) there could have been a niche audience for it and then perhaps grow from there, but that was not ABC's gambler "go big or go home" " mentality at the time.

But back to the title: the roman numeral seemed ridiculous. DYNASTY: THE COLBYS, as @AndyLaird suggested, could have conveyed that this is a story of a different DYNASTY. DYNASTY II made it like a sequel (and subconsciously implied DYNASTY itself was finished). But as all things Colbys, I am not surprised @Willie Oleson and I disagree. :D

Total geil! :p

Talk about mixing the old and new meaning of a word. ;)
 
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Willie Oleson

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That's because despite the title, it wasn't DYNASTY II though many wanted it to be
DYNASTY: THE COLBYS, as @AndyLaird suggested, could have conveyed that this is a story of a different DYNASTY
just that despite ABC and Esther Shapiro claiming the two shows were two peas in a pod, that was never the case.
So, the "DYNASTY II" title made it look too similar, but the show itself was too different?
I think that was exactly the point of this spin-off. It was a different dynasty-saga in the same (or at least very similar) DYNASTY universe, with a very similar DYNASTY-look (always an important aspect of the shows).
And there's a link with Jeff and Alexis.

If it were DYNASTY II, they would have brought a lot of the characters over in season 8, and not just the two that were part of the original show
And how would that affect THE COLBYS when that show no longer existed? Why bother?

But as all things Colbys, I am not surprised @Willie Oleson and I disagree
Your determination never fails to surprise me:)
And you use ratings and concept and quotes (and now the title) as ammunition but what you didn't like about the show itself (what happened in the episodes) - I'm still none the wiser.

I think it's time for an episode review thread by Michael Torrance!:dance:
 

Michael Torrance

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So, the " II" title made it look too similar, but the show itself was too different?
I think that was exactly the point of this spin-off. It was a different dynasty-saga in the same (or at least very similar) DYNASTY universe, with a very similar DYNASTY-look (always an important aspect of the shows).

I kinda meant that it wasn't DYNASTY quality-wise. :D
And how would that affect THE COLBYS when that show no longer existed? Why bother?
Huh?
And you use ratings and concept and quotes (and now the title) as ammunition but what you didn't like about the show itself (what happened in the episodes) - I'm still none the wiser.

I think it's time for an episode review thread by Michael Torrance!:dance:

I have given quite a list of things I did not like in other posts, and many people here (yourself included) got all defensive about them. You have just blocked them out as if it were the accidental shooting of Roger Grimes.:p
And after having watched the first season of THE COLBYS twice, there is no power on heaven, earth, or hell, that would make me watch it a third time.
 

Willie Oleson

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I kinda meant that it wasn't DYNASTY quality-wise
Then WHAT should it have been?
Read your post, svp.
You have just blocked them out
If I did then it wasn't on purpose. Forgive me.
and many people here (yourself included) got all defensive about them
Everyone can respond to posts and explain why they see things differently. I would never suggest, let alone expect, that you should change your mind.
 

Michael Torrance

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Then WHAT should it have been?
interesting!

Read your post, svp.
I said that it wasn't DYNASTY II, because the characters weren't so integral to keep them on in S8. Then you said, what was the point since The Colbys were cancelled. So....


Everyone can respond to posts and explain why they see things differently. I would never suggest, let alone expect, that you should change your mind.
I agree--the same for you. I was just pointing out that I have in the past brought up specific things I didn't like, not just quotes and titles as you suggested. I still read posts (yours and others) about The Colbys and when I add to a thread I neither expect to change my mind nor others to change theirs. I have gotten a better understanding of what others like you liked about the show. They are just not things I value.
 

Willie Oleson

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interesting!
Well if you don't like it then you don't like it.
But that doesn't say anything about the concept of the spin-off series or why the "DYNASTY II" title should or shouldn't be there.
I said that it wasn't DYNASTY II, because the characters weren't so integral to keep them on in S8
They all had to move to Denver, including Colby Enterprises?
And even if that was possible, don't you think it would have been a little crowded, to put it mildly?
The Colby characters stayed in their own cancelled DYNASTY II world. And if we're going to talk about integral characters that should have been kept on the show, how about Matthew and Lindsay?

But you also said:
DYNASTY: THE COLBYS, as @AndyLaird suggested, could have conveyed that this is a story of a different DYNASTY
This seems to suggest that it actually wasn't different enough.
Or that the real difference between these shows depended on the inclusion or omission of the "II" part. Sorry to say but that argument is simply mind-boggling.
 

ClassyCo

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I'm not a fan of the title at all really.

I mean, the "Dynasty II" linked it to the parent show, helped establish premise, audience, and add value to the Dynasty brand and franchise, but I still would have went with something else. With or without the Dynasty II tagged at the beginning, The Colbys seems to me like a title for a summer-season-miniseries, not a full-time prime time series.

What would I have called it? I don't know, but I kind of like the Empire thought. Maybe thought one, or something tying the show to California in general.

Placing the name of the core family in the title just seems typical, uninventive, and quite frankly bland. I mean, what if the show had been a fire hit, and if that core family had drifted away (i.e. actors wanted out, salaries weren't met, etc.), and the title no longer made sense.

Maybe I'm ticky, but I don't like it.
 
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