Colbys - aEpilogue

[AndyLaird]

In the style of a Jackie Collins novel, this is how the loose ends could be quicky tied up and make way for season 9 of Dynasty.

- Francesca survived but with injuries. She and Jason went travelling in Europe so she could recover away from all the negative memories.

- Sable and Miles (the latter still reeling from Channing's abortion) throw their efforts into running Colby Enterprises in Jason's absence. Monica persuaded Sable to let the boy whose name I can't remember go back to his adoptive mother.

- Sable eyed up a possible takeover of ColbyCo which came to nothing but caught Alexis's attention. Alexis, who never liked Sable anyway, secretly told Jason that Sable had been having an affair and the twins weren't his children and provided faked letters to support this.

- Jason's bitterness about Sable was magnified and he wanted nothing more to do with her or the twins, arranging to have them forced out of Colby Enterprises.

- Sable was so hurt that she never even could bring herself to tell Jason that it was rape not an affair.

Between season 9 and the Dynasty Reunion...

- Monica told Jason the truth about Sable having been assaulted, and it is confirmed by DNA testing that Jason was the father after all. He begged Miles and Monica to forgive him, which they did.

- Sable and Jason agreed to part as friends. Sable returned to England to raise the late Dex Dexter's child alone.

 

[Zable]

In the style of a Jackie Collins novel, this is how the loose ends could be quicky tied up and make way for season 9 of Dynasty.

- Francesca survived but with injuries. She and Jason went travelling in Europe so she could recover away from all the negative memories....

@AndyLaird, hi there. I can see why you itched to tie up loose ends. I, too, wanted resolution for some stories. It was just so unfortunate The Colbys was denied a 3rd season to wrap up. Bummer. ....As it was, TC and Dynasty had already suffered the previous year from the lack of a hand at the helm of the ship as to which direction each series was heading -- owing to a legal dispute (July to Dec, 1986) between the Shapiros and Mr Spelling over the planned sale of stock by Mr Spelling's company.

One loose end for me: I’ve always wondered what became of Phil.

Also, there was that unfinished business of the rifle Jason found in the very final episode, which he thought was proof that a particular someone had tried to kill him. (I’m trying not to give too many spoilers away here.) ….Unless post-production had actually goofed, it seems to me there was a deliberate set-up about that rifle, which was found in the same room by 2 people at separate times. The devil is in the detail about the rifle’s discovery.

I loved it. It was an unexpected development in what had seemed like a straightforward conclusion to a sub-plot: Viewers, but not the victim, had already seen who’d fired the rifle & it simply looked like the victim was just catching on. And now, there had risen the possibly there was another player in the sub-plot. But who? I was so disappointed not to know how that would unravel.

About your ideas... Now, I’ve never read Jackie Collins’ novels. I wouldn’t recognize her style. Not in the way she writes/expresses nor in the way she brings a story together. So, I don’t know exactly what you mean when you say “in the style of a JC novel”, or why you pick that style. ….For me, the main thing is whether the ideas blend with TC and everything works. ....The late Bill Bast and Paul Huson, the guys who wrote TC’s pilot and produced all the episodes, had little problem turning Danielle Steele’s novel Secrets into a teleplay.

This epilogue... are all what you outlined above taking place as an extension to TC’s S2 (as the thread title suggests) or in a 3rd season of TC? How do Jeff & Fallon fit into things? How long do Francesca’s & Jason’s travelling last… all the way to DS9? Am quite curious.


Also, Andy, could you please tell me what you know about Jeff’s mum, as stated on Dynasty?

. Was she already called Francesca on Dynasty? Or was she actually never called that at all on that series?

. Was it said she had a sister in the early years, or was that only mentioned on Dynasty in S9?

. What did Jeff say about his mother, the relationship they had? And about how he came to be raised by Cecil?

. Jeff attended his mother’s wedding to a diplomat. Was that diplomat ever identified on Dynasty? I vaguely remember something about Jeff saying he wanted to push his step-dad’s face into the punch bowl. Do you know why?

Thanks heaps, lad. ) Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun.)

 

[Willie Oleson]

- Jason's bitterness about Sable was magnified and he wanted nothing more to do with her or the twins

And that's another thing that bothered me about that Dynasty S9 storyline.
Jason never struck me as cruel or vindictive, and he really loved his children, especially Monica.
The whole thing doesn't make sense.

It would have been more interesting if Alexis' attempt to hurt Sable had had the opposite effect: that it would strengthen Jason and Sable's relationship.
After all, she didn't allow anyone to rape her in order to deceive her husband with illegitimate children.
It was ridiculous that the Carringtons adopted Adam when he (allegedly) wasn't Adam after all, but it would be very plausible on The Colbys.
Perhaps Sable could use it to her advantage, and lie to Jason that Francesca knew about it all along...confusion and drama ensues. Etc.

Monica told Jason the truth about Sable having been assaulted, and it is confirmed by DNA testing that Jason was the father after all

Oh, well, in that case ignore everything I posted above

 

[AndyLaird]

@AndyLaird

About your ideas... Now, I’ve never read Jackie Collins’ novels. I wouldn’t recognize her style. Not in the way she writes/expresses nor in the way she brings a story together. So, I don’t know exactly what you mean when you say “in the style of a JC novel”, or why you pick that style. ….For me, the main thing is whether the ideas blend with TC and everything works. ...

The Jackie Collins reference is a bit of a joke given her relationship to Joan, but her novels often get to a point when all the storylines are coming to an interesting climax and the book abruptly ends at that point, with the loose ends being tied up in an "Epilogue" which is just a series of short, punchy paragraphs explaining what happened to each character in turn.

It occurred to me that this is all the Colbys really needed to tell a complete story and link back in to Dynasty. It wouldn't work as a bible for a third season, but it does complete the picture.

My dream would be for Shout Factory to include it as a bonus feature with the DVDs . Hopefully they, unlike me, would be able to type Epilogue without a typo in the title ;-)

I will give some thought to your other points before replying!

 

[tommie]

The Jackie Collins reference is a bit of a joke given her relationship to Joan, but her novels often get to a point when all the storylines are coming to an interesting climax and the book abruptly ends at that point, with the loose ends being tied up in an "Epilogue" which is just a series of short, punchy paragraphs explaining what happened to each character in turn.

Funnily enough this is what happened to the short-lived 1992 soap 2000 Malibu Road in Europe - they got Lisa Hartman to do an ending narration to solve the cliffhangers and what happened next. Maybe they could've gotten Stephanie Beacham to do it for The Colbys.

 

[Willie Oleson]

with the loose ends being tied up in an "Epilogue" which is just a series of short, punchy paragraphs explaining what happened to each character in turn.

You're right, I have read most of her novels (1970s/1980s) and she often wrote an epilogue or "6 months later" mini-story.

p.s. I still think "Hollywood Husbands" should have been made into a TV mini-series.

Maybe they could've gotten Stephanie Beacham to do it for The Colbys.

Or Barbara Stanwyck (or someone who sounds like Barbara Stanwyck).
Or would she call all of them whores?

 

[AndyLaird]

One loose end for me: I’ve always wondered what became of Phil.

Also, there was that unfinished business of the rifle Jason found in the very final episode, which he thought was proof that a particular someone had tried to kill him.

I'd leave Philip's fate as a mystery - he disappeared and was never heard from again. That seems to fit the character better than a neat resolution.

I can't help with the rifle - I'd need to watch the episode again.

This epilogue... are all what you outlined above taking place as an extension to TC’s S2 (as the thread title suggests) or in a 3rd season of TC? How do Jeff & Fallon fit into things? How long do Francesca’s & Jason’s travelling last… all the way to DS9? Am quite curious.

It's intended as a brief wrap-up, not the plan for a third season, but covering the period between TC3 and DS9, and between DS9 and the Reunion.

Jeff and Fallon's story is continued in DS8 so no need to include them. I'll post a revised version with a little more on Jason and Frankie.

Also, Andy, could you please tell me what you know about Jeff’s mum, as stated on Dynasty?

. Was she already called Francesca on Dynasty? Or was she actually never called that at all on that series?

. Was it said she had a sister in the early years, or was that only mentioned on Dynasty in S9?

. What did Jeff say about his mother, the relationship they had? And about how he came to be raised by Cecil?

. Jeff attended his mother’s wedding to a diplomat. Was that diplomat ever identified on Dynasty? I vaguely remember something about Jeff saying he wanted to push his step-dad’s face into the punch bowl. Do you know why?

I'm willing to be corrected but I don't think she is ever named on Dynasty, prior to The Colbys. There are only the brief and somewhat cryptic references to her that you described. It certainly isn't mentioned before The Colbys that she had a sister, still less that this sister was Alexis's cousin so that Jeff is biologically related to Fallon and Steven.

Many thanks for your interest! I'll post a slightly more polished version shortly. The first one also omitted Zach Powers...

 

[Alexis]

- Francesca survived but with injuries. She and Jason went travelling in Europe so she could recover away from all the negative memories.

Of course you meant that Francesca who was a wretchedly unhappy woman, still wasn't happy when she finally "had" Jason, just as she wasn't with all the husbands and men that she chased before. She went on to make Jason's life a living hell with insidious jealousy and her manic depressive nature. This went on for a time until one night when she was convinced he was with Sable in Denver, when he actually wasn't, she took a dip in the pool after downing a bottle of vodka and taking all of her numerous medications. The end.

 

[Zable]

...her novels often get to a point when all the storylines are coming to an interesting climax and the book abruptly ends at that point, with the loose ends being tied up in an "Epilogue" which is just a series of short, punchy paragraphs explaining what happened to each character in turn.

My dream would be for Shout Factory to include it as a bonus feature with the DVDs . Hopefully they, unlike me, would be able to type Epilogue without a typo in the title

Ah, now I understand. Had thought your ideas too much additional material for just a S2, but not if done as you explained in a brief wrap-up ….Paul Huson still lives. SF could approach him to write the wrap-up if they were to run with your idea and if the Shapiros & other Powers That Be approved.

Thanks for clarifying.

P.S. You could ask Ome to correct the thread title to (The?) Colbys: An Epilogue

Also, Andy, could you please tell me what you know about Jeff’s mum, as stated on Dynasty?

I asked about Jeff’s mum ‘cos much of Dynasty is hazy in my mind. I don’t have the DVDs for Dynasty & TC. It’s been very long since I watched them on the idiot box. Have forgotten much of pre-DS6. Overall, I know TC much better. So, every time I say “I don’t recall”, it’s not to dispute but to mean I just can’t remember something being said/happening. My recollection will need correcting, possibly.

Monica told Jason the truth about Sable having been assaulted

But how did D.S9 Monica know what the truth was? Sable told her one thing (it was an affair) and Sable told Blake it was another (rape).

Who’s to say that Sable had really told Blake the truth, even though she’d told Blake she’d lied to Monica to spare her the truth?

Jeff and Fallon's story is continued in DS8

Yes and no.

Me knows Jeff of The Colbys wouldn’t recognize himself in Jeff of D.S8.

And Jeff of D.S8 may not recognize himself in Jeff of D.S9. Though Jeff of TC definitely won’t recognize himself in Jeff of D.S9 either.

If Jeff of TC wouldn't recognize himself in either of those 2 latterday Dynasty Jeffs, then neither would Jason & the gang on TC. …..So who or what does that make the Sable & gang on DS9 who interact with that Paulsenian Dynasty Jeff?

How now to segue from The Colbys into Dynasty Season 9?

Catch 22.

 

[Zable]

....the loose ends being tied up in an "Epilogue" which is just a series of short, punchy paragraphs explaining what happened to each character in turn. It occurred to me that this is all the Colbys really needed to tell a complete story and link back in to Dynasty. It wouldn't work as a bible for a third season, but it does complete the picture.

I really like Andy’s idea of an epilogue to give completion to the TC series.

I’m also intrigued by what can be done to 'reconcile'/explain the differences between the TC series and Paulsenian Dynasty.

Not that I’m advocating that such reconciliation is warranted, given what I believe David Paulsen was going about doing.

I'll post a slightly more polished version shortly. The first one also omitted Zach Powers.

@AndyLaird Great! Would you consider adding the Matisse to your Epilogue? There were some oddities about these 2 that caught my attention.

. Mr Powers…. Some may recall from a post I made on old soapchat that I use the name Zack when referring to his character on The Colbys & Zach when referring to his Dynasty character. The oddities that stuck me on D.S9:

– SybilSable told her cousin she’d never had to cat around when she was married. That was at odds with the Sabella-Zack story.

(Funnily enough, when SybilSable was planning to come to Denver, she got her secretary write a To Do list and told her to give it to a mysterious Mr Powell to attend to while SS was away. It reminded me of when Zack had let Sabella know that if ever she needed him or wanted something, he’d be there for her. ….The headscratcher is that SS didn’t return to Denver, but talked to Monica about her non-existent lifestyle and having to live out of a hotel, while telling Dex she had more than enough money.)

– Alexis said SybilSable was used to her men walking out on her. That wasn't so with Sabella and Zack.

Alexis, I noticed, was mum on having known Zach; and I wondered why she didn’t stick it to SybilSable about the relationship she & Caress had had with Zach when she’d the opportunity. Instead, when SS asked about the painting GrimesII gave Alexis, Alexis said: “A present from Roger to Alexis with love – a word I doubt you are familiar with. What’s the matter cousin, did I hit a nerve?”

While one season isn’t enough to go by, it’s almost as if Mr Powers doesn’t exist in Paulsenian Dynasty ….while Sable’s personal fortunes seem to wax and wane depending on what the need of the moment is.


. The Matisse…. It bugged me no end why Sable had the Matisse in Denver, in her Carlton suite.

TC’s story was that Sable had worked to create the most prestigious private gallery-museum in the country. She wanted to buy the Matisse, telling Jason the collection wouldn’t be complete without it. She eventually got the Matisse for the gallery-museum (which was officially known as Colby Collection).

From the beginning of divorce discussions she’d asked specifically for Colby Collection (which was under the umbrella of Colby Galleries). Jason never raised any objections, so presumably she got the gallery-museum in the divorce settlement. At any rate she continued to work there; and the Matisse was the centrepiece of the entire collection, as she told Channing.

What on earth made Sable take the Matisse out from the gallery-museum? D.S9 is mum on Colby Collection, has it been sold? Yet a D.S9 art appraiser identifies her as “Sable Colby of Colby Galleries in Los Angeles”. It’s all very odd, seeing that other Colby/Powers art works from TC are also to be found in the rooms/offices of other D.S9 characters.

D.S9 plays like Alexis is the only one of the Colby-related women to have had a lover give her a painting.

 

[Zable]

SybilSable told her cousin she’d never had to cat around when she was married ... it’s almost as if Mr Powers doesn’t exist in Paulsenian Dynasty

Did Paulsenian Dynasty take some of this to heart, and flip the rest?

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

. The Matisse…. It bugged me no end why Sable had the Matisse in Denver, in her Carlton suite.

...


What on earth made Sable take the Matisse out from the gallery-museum? D.S9 is mum on Colby Collection, has it been sold? Yet a D.S9 art appraiser identifies her as “Sable Colby of Colby Galleries in Los Angeles”. It’s all very odd

Didn't bug me at all and i didn't find it odd, on the contrary.
She just bought the Carlton and to me it looked like she would be settling down there and leaving LA behind for good.
Maybe she planned on opening some kind of new art gallery inside the Carlton (remember, she started renovating it the moment she moved in), had moved and stored several art from LA to the Carlton basment already, but wanted to have that very valuable Matisse-"center piece" right by her side in her room (until her new gallery section of the Carlton would be ready).
I saw that as a sweet nod at TC - and at the character of Zach Powers in particular.
So no, i don't think Paulsen ignored Zach at all. He just wasn't mentioned by name.
That's what i love about D.S9, it's partly very subtle and lets you make your own thoughts and conclusions, instead of that "in your face" attitude of the former seasons.
Worst was S8 with it's "do more sports, otherwise you'll die VERY soon!" message towards the audience every 2 episodes - and even IN the openig credits

 

[AndyLaird]

I really like Andy’s idea of an epilogue to give completion to the TC series.

I’m also intrigued by what can be done to 'reconcile'/explain the differences between the TC series and Paulsenian Dynasty.

Here is the polished version, although I'm afraid I haven't done justice to all your observations... I have however taken the opportunity to clear up the Zach mystery that bugged me the most.

THE COLBYS - EPILOGUE

The story of Jeff and Fallon is continued in the eighth season of Dynasty. For the other characters, read on…

* Francesca survived the accident but needed several months to recover from her injuries. Jason took her to Europe to recover as far away as possible from the Colby mansion and its unhappy memories.

* Sable, following Jason’s desertion, became even closer to her twin children, Miles and Monica. Miles was devastated by Channing’s abortion, and Monica made the painful decision to send Scott back to the family that had raised him. The three of them coped with their losses by throwing their energies into their roles on the board of Colby Enterprises. The business therefore thrived despite Jason’s absence.

* Whilst her cousin Alexis was busy campaigning for the governorship of Colorado, Sable had an eye on a possible takeover target: Alexis’s ColbyCo business in Denver, which had been founded by Alexis’ late husband and Jason’s brother, Cecil Colby.

* Alexis discovered and put a stop to this manoeuvre. She had never liked her cousin and decided to exact her revenge by visiting Jason (with whom she’d once had a brief fling) and telling him a secret Sable had confided in her many years before: he might not be the father of Sable’s twins.

* Jason refused to believe it but Alexis was prepared for that and showed him letters (actually forgeries commissioned by Alexis herself) “proving” that Sable had had an affair with one of Jason’s business associates in the early years of their marriage. Jason felt all his previous bitterness towards Sable return, and he refused to have anything more to do with her or with the twins, focusing instead on his new life with Frankie.

* What Alexis didn’t know, and didn’t tell Jason, was that Sable had not had a consensual relationship but had been raped. Sable, shocked at Jason’s behaviour and treatment of the twins, kept this secret to herself.

* Bliss and Kolya lived happily ever after in New York and had four children, all of whom turned out to be good dancers.

* Zach Powers died in suspicious circumstances. It transpired that his former wife’s fortune derived from her involvement with an organised crime syndicate. Zach had persuaded her to double-cross the syndicate, which had led to her death. Zach had saved himself by keeping quiet after Caress Morell was set up by the syndicate as the scapegoat for the murder, but as he now was planning to reveal the truth, there was a price on his head.

* Philip Colby was never seen or heard of again. His fate remains a mystery.

(Continuity note: the story of Sable and Monica continues in the final season of "Dynasty." The following events occur between the end of that season and the "Dynasty Reunion.")

* Having learned the truth from her mother, Monica told Jason that Sable had not been unfaithful to him. A DNA test established that he was the twins’ father after all. Jason begged his family to forgive him.

* They did, but the family was never as close as it had once been Miles and Monica returned to Los Angeles to run Colby Enterprises, and Jason and Frankie remained in Europe.

* Sable, having given birth to Dex Dexter’s child but lost Dex himself to a tragic accident at the Carlton Hotel in Denver, decided to start a new life with her baby back in England. She therefore returned to her birthplace. Her English relatives viewed her return with mixed feelings... as in LA and Denver, Sable would never escape family drama...

 

[Alexis]

Didn't bug me at all and i didn't find it odd, on the contrary.
She just bought the Carlton and to me it looked like she would be settling down there and leaving LA behind for good.
Maybe she planned on opening some kind of new art gallery inside the Carlton (remember, she started renovating it the moment she moved in), had moved and stored several art from LA to the Carlton basment already, but wanted to have that very valuable Matisse-"center piece" right by her side in her room (until her new gallery section of the Carlton would be ready).
I saw that as a sweet nod at TC - and at the character of Zach Powers in particular.
So no, i don't think Paulsen ignored Zach at all. He just wasn't mentioned by name.
That's what i love about D.S9, it's partly very subtle and lets you make your own thoughts and conclusions, instead of that "in your face" attitude of the former seasons.
Worst was S8 with it's "do more sports, otherwise you'll die VERY soon!" message towards the audience every 2 episodes - and even IN the openig credits

I also loved that she had the Matisse there too. I think she also had a Renoir there and it used to be in her bedroom at the Colby mansion. I loved that, the detail that Sable kept these paintings and took them with her to Denver.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

I also loved that she had the Matisse there too. I think she also had a Renoir there and it used to be in her bedroom at the Colby mansion. I loved that, the detail that Sable kept these paintings and took them with her to Denver.

Yes, you could really tell that Paulson not only watched several seasons of "Dynasty", but "The Colbys" too to get his job done.
He surely skipped over some things which didn't matter, but he got what was needed to move the story on completly in sync.

Something Cynthia Cidre should have done as well with nuDallas, but that's another story.

You just need to do your homework, to dive into the characters and storylines to be able to move the show forward or even move it to a (much) better direction - as Paulson did. Ignore too much or don't do the research with your heart involved, and it will backfire on you VERY soon!

Paulson did his job, although i think the result might have been even better, if he consulted Huson and Bast as well.
Bast, Huson and Paulson might have been the perfect producing construction for Dynasty season 10 and even might have helped it to survive another season or two. But who knows ...

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yes, you could really tell that Paulson not only watched several seasons of "Dynasty", but "The Colbys" too to get his job done.
He surely skipped over some things which didn't matter, but he got what was needed to move the story on completly in sync.

Something Cynthia Cidre should have done as well with nuDallas, but that's another story.

You just need to do your homework, to dive into the characters and storylines to be able to move the show forward or even move it to a (much) better direction - as Paulson did. Ignore too much or don't do the research with your heart involved, and it will backfire on you VERY soon!

Paulson did his job, although i think the result might have been even better, if he consulted Huson and Bast as well.
Bast, Huson and Paulson might have been the perfect producer construction for Dynasty season 10 and even might have helped it to survive another season or two. But who knows ...

As is obvious from my posts and threads, I do love "the mysterious background" stuff -- taking hints and breadcrumbs offered up by other writers and constructing a lattice work of history over time.

It's just fun. And should have been fun for the DYNASTY writers, but obviously wasn't (until Paulsen came in, at least).

I think Huson and Bast should have been tapped for DYNASTY after, or perhaps even before, THE COLBYS folded... Once Lorimar threw away FC's show-runner, Robert McCullough, in 1984 and Spelling hired him work on the script and co-produce HOLLYWOOD WIVES, Spelling should have then brought him into DYNASTY for a couple of years. Then followed by, or joined by, Huson and Bast.

And Pollocks politely seated by the craft service table from there on.

I sometimes wonder how a show run by Paulsen, McCullough, Huson & Bast, and Ed Ledding would have turned out.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

Well ... as soon as it gets to "you might not get the Rita and Krystle catfight", i'm caught in a very defense position

 

[Willie Oleson]

* Jason refused to believe it but Alexis was prepared for that and showed him letters (actually forgeries commissioned by Alexis herself) “proving” that Sable had had an affair with one of Jason’s business associates in the early years of their marriage.

When she herself slept with Roger Grimes and Cecil Colby when she was married to Blake, of all the nerve!
Horrible woman!

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Well ... as soon as it gets to "you might not get the Rita and Krystle catfight", i'm caught in a very defense position

Oh, I think we can work something out.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

When she herself slept with Roger Grimes and Cecil Colby when she was married to Blake, of all the nerve!
Horrible woman!

Yeah well. Getting better chances today, with iPhones and all that new crap?