5 things you would have done / wouldn´t have done

Gabriel Maxwell

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1. Cast Jon-Erik Hexum as Dex Dexter -- Michael Nader and Joan Collins had great chemistry as a couple, but I never really cared for him all that much. And Dynasty was a female-centric show highly appealing to gay male audiences that needed what almost every soap has nowadays - quality male eye candy. They got some (arguably, a matter of personal taste) in Tony Driscoll, Luke Fuller and Miles Colby, but neither one of those was a principal Dynasty character. Perhaps Hexum wouldn't have initially had Nader's gravitas, but I think he could've been molded from a boy toy into a more mature & compelling partner for Alexis (plus he looked stunning in a cowboy outfit or... just about anything). Not to mention the casting choice might have saved the poor guy's life (unless you believe in fate and destiny).

2. Make Sammy Jo & Adam a couple -- These two were made for each other and what happened with them in late S4 and early S5 didn't even scratch the surface of all the great villainy this bitch and bastard could've produced if teamed up. I also would've saved Luke Fuller from the Moldavian gunfire, just because he was too obvious of a choice to kill off and I would've loved watching Mr. and Mrs. Adam & Samantha Carrington inflict pain upon him and Steven (only to shoot themselves in the foot in the end, of course). A glimpse of what could've been transpired in that season 9 dinner when they clashed. Now imagine all the fights & hot angry sex they could've had while scheming and conniving their way through seasons 6-9.

3. Stick with 7A & give Oxenberg a small raise -- Think what you want of season 7A, but it was much more compelling than the utter mess that ensued after the amnesia business in Singapore (not to mention the lackluster hot dogs and South-American gangs tag when the writers kept limping to the end of the season). I would've stuck with the original bible (network pressure be damned) and have Ben Carrington marry Alexis and go out in his revenge scheme (while driving Colbyco into the ground), while also saving the fans from the tragic re-casting of Amanda. And for those who loved Neal McVane's return, they could've still had him as part of Ben's schemes against Adam.

4. Merge Matthew Blaisdell's return & Sean Rowen into Cecil Colby's S8 return -- Matthew's return came out of nowhere and didn't really go anywhere. A cheap stunt to end the season, a pay-off without a build-up. Meanwhile, Sean Rowen was an over-the-top poor man's Nick Toscanni with a ridiculous back story tied to Kirby, of all characters. None of it made any sense. An otherwise tedious season 8 perked up a bit (but again ultimately went nowhere) when Krystle tried to dig some dirt on what should've always been a suspicious Colby's demise and Alexis' super-fast ascent to the Colbyco throne. Well, if you're going to do a back-from-dead story, why not do Cecil Colby, who could've paid off doctors to help him stage his death, to escape the walls closing in on him for his crimes. Krystle could've blown his cover (that would've been the most intriguing storyline for her in years) and then imagine all the repercussions his return would've had on everyone in Denver. A compelling character played by a decent actor with an already established back story with ties to almost everyone who'd have an actual impact on what happens next in Denver.

5. Delay The Reunion for a year -- I don't mind open endings. That's how Peyton Place finished, also on ABC, and I think it's fine. Life goes on, we're just not privy to it. But, there was a lot of complaining about the open ending and ABC was suddenly willing to do it, so why not. But... The Shapiros were obviously incapable of writing a decent reunion mini-series and since David Paulsen got to do the final season and most will agree he did an incredible job, they should've waited for a year, because he was most likely unavailable in 1991 while developing his own network show 'Dangerous Curves'. The show flopped in early 1992 and that's when he became available. Who knows, maybe they would've even better coordinated with Gordon Thomson and avoided that unnecessary recasting (as Thomson was happy to do it, providing it didn't clash with his Santa Barbara schedule). A Reunion with Paulsen & Thomson in 1992 could've given the show a proper ending (and pick it up from 9.22!), instead of that 1991 atrocity.
 
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Snarky Oracle!

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Yes, to both of these:
2. Make Sammy Jo & Adam a couple -- These two were made for each other and what happened with them in late S4 and early S5 didn't even scratch the surface of all the great villainy this bitch and bastard could've produced if teamed up. I also would've saved Luke Fuller from the Moldavian gunfire, just because he was too obvious of a choice to kill off and I would've loved watching Mr. and Mrs. Adam & Samantha Carrington inflict pain upon him and Steven (only to shoot themselves in the foot in the end, of course). A glimpse of what could've been transpired in that season 9 dinner when they clashed. Now imagine all the fights & hot angry sex they could've had while scheming and conniving their way through seasons 6-9.

3. Stick with 7A & give Oxenberg a small raise -- Think what you want of season 7A, but it was much more compelling than the utter mess that ensued after the amnesia business in Singapore (not to mention the lackluster hot dogs and South-American gangs tag when the writers kept limping to the end of the season). I would've stuck with the original bible (network pressure be damned) and have Ben Carrington marry Alexis and go out in his revenge scheme (while driving Colbyco into the ground), while also saving the fans from the tragic re-casting of Amanda. And for those who loved Neal McVane's return, they could've still had him as part of Ben's schemes against Adam.

Nader was okay, but I was never wild about Dex or his casting, either. I'm not sure about Hexum (although I thought he'd make a nice Ted Dinard, someone whose innate likeability -- if not his acting -- would keep audiences reminded of his death.... and Blake's guilt).
 

Willie Oleson

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Bring back Caress for the Roger Grimes story, what a fabulous bitch galore that would be. Or maybe she shouldn't have left in the first place.
But she was doing HOWARDS' WAY at that time.

although I thought he'd make a nice Ted Dinard, someone whose innate likeability -- if not his acting -- would keep audiences reminded of his death.... and Blake's guilt
Yes, it's always sadder when Very Pretty People die.
 
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Willie Oleson

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And what if we didn't learn in season 2 that Colby was Rhinewood? He could even fake being attacked, something similar to what happened to Blake.
But what if Alexis had discovered - after Cecil's death - that he was the man behind Rhinewood.
And what did she do to make sure that no-one would ever find out since this information could damage ColbyCo. Would that be an interesting angle for Krystle's investigation?
 

Gabriel Maxwell

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But what if Alexis had discovered - after Cecil's death - that he was the man behind Rhinewood.

Alexis should have discovered something... anything after Cecil's death period. A file on the missing Nazi treasure? A Carrington sex tape? An alien cookbook?

A creepy millionaire with that office backroom must have had some kind of a hidden vault with all kinds of filthy secrets about Denver's high and mighty.

Perhaps that's what someone (one of his goons? one of his victims?) was trying to retrieve from Alexis' penthouse when they ransacked it at the beginning of season 4.
 

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Here are my 5:

1. Not replace Pamela Sue Martin with Emma Samms, but strike a deal with Pam so she comes back every season for limited number of episodes like Farrah in Charlie's Angels.

2. Not replace Catherine Oxenberg with Karen Cellini, but give Catherine her measly 2500 dollar raise and then write the character out, but not kill her off, later in the season if the Producers didn't like Oxenberg.

3. Have Claudia, Michael, Galen and Ashley die in the Massacre, and then everyone else goes back to Denver so ending the Moldavia storyline

4. Have Sammy Jo battle Steven and Luke for Danny's custody in season 6. Now that Claudia is gone, Adam pairs off with Sammy Jo and helps her to try and win custody as he irrationally blames Steven for Claudia's death. When Steven wins custody, Sammy Jo dumps Adam for Clay so setting up her rivalry with Amanda.

5. Not have Krystle locked up in the attic for weeks. If they must have the Rita storyline, have Rita run around Denver embarrassing Krystle by showing up in jewellery and fur stores where she runs into Alexis. (The same thing happened to John James when some guy impersonated his voice and asked actresses out for dates).
 
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Snarky Oracle!

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Here are my 5:

1. Not replace Pamela Sue Martin with Emma Samms, but strike a deal with Pam so she comes back every season for limited number of episodes like Farrah in Charle's Angels.
Yes!
Tony said:
2. Not replace Catherine Oxenberg with Karen Cellini, but give Catherine her measly 2500 dollar raise and then write the character out, but not kill her off, later in the season if the Producers didn't like Oxenberg.
Yes!

Tony said:
3. Have Claudia, Michael, Galen and Ashley die in the Massacre, and then everyone else goes back to Denver so ending the Moldavia storyline
No!

Tony said:
4. Have Sammy Jo battle Steven and Luke for Danny's custody in season 6. Now that Claudia is gone, Adam pairs off with Sammy Jo and helps her to try and win custody as he irrationally blames Steven for Claudia's death. When Steven wins custody, Sammy Jo dumps Adam for Clay so setting up her rivalry with Amanda.
Maybe!

Tony said:
5. Not have Krystle locked up in the attic for weeks. If they must have the Rita storyline, have Rita run around Denver embarrassing Krystle by showing up in jewellery and fur stores where she runs into Alexis. (The same thing happened to John James when some guy impersonated his voice and asked actresses out for dates).
Yes!
 
K

Karin Schill

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1) Had Blake and Alexis reunite properly at some point and had her move back into the mansion to the shock of their children. It would have totally changed the family dynamics of the show. It might could have been done in season 9 after Krystle went into a coma or earlier.

2) Blake would at least have slept with Alexis while having amnesia in Singapore.

3) Not fire Catherine Oxenburg. The recast was ridiculous.

4) The attic storyline went on too long too with Rita.

5) Declare that Fallon's UFO encounter was nothing but a terrible nightmare! ;)
 

Carrie Fairchild

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1: Have Dominique as a one season wonder - as @Willie Oleson said, Dominique should have been a one season guest star with a powerful storyline. Like Kim Novak or Morgan Fairchild were on Falcon Crest. I love Diahann Carroll, but seriously, what were Dominique's major plots? She showed up, was revealed as a Carrington, did f*ck all about it bar inherit some money and help out her newfound brother. Then she had a cough for a while, collapsed and recovered, a husband showed up for a couple of episodes, she flitted between Denver and LA for a bit - not doing much in either city, had a couple of boyfriends and then left. Compare that with "I was on the run from gangsters who inadvertently blew up my friend so I assumed her identity and have insinuated my way into her rich stepfather's life on a winery that's run by a dragon lady". And that was all in Kim Novak's first two episodes. I'd have had Dominique come in as Blake's long lost sister who raises hell for all and sundry only to be killed in Moldavia, leaving a legacy of destruction in her wake.

2: Redo the Rita plot - this is rather fan fiction-ish but here goes. I'd have started it earlier in season five with the switch happening prior to them all going to Moldavia. Rita (as Krystle) then goes to Moldavia for the wedding and is killed in the massacre. Blake returns to Denver and is comforted by Alexis as he mourns "Krystle" who is actually seeing all this coverage on TV while locked in the attic. In a struggle to free herself, Krystle accidentally kills Joel. They're found and Krystle subsequently goes on trial for Joel's murder, with Alexis giving evidence against her, regaling tales of Krystle knocking seven bells out of her, every other season. Special Guest Star - Deborah Adair as Tracy Kendall reminiscing on the stand about the time Krystle slapped her into redundancy. Like, the Rita plot was ridiculous, so why not go balls to the wall and ramp it up to super ridiculous with a return from the dead and a murder trial to boot.

3: Not fire Oxenberg - they missed a trick in season six by not turning her into a Princess Stephanie of Monaco-esque Eurotrash royal wildchild who plunges headlong into drug fuelled debauchery following the trauma of her wedding massacre. Granted, she did trick about with a playboy and shagged her stepfather but her and Michael could've become tabloid fodder with their licentious ways as they blew the royal loot while partying in exile. Anyway, that's beside the point. Not firing her would've given the show some sort of continuity among the younger female Carringtons rather than continuing the revolving door of Fallon out, Amanda in, Amanda out, Leslie in, Leslie out and so on.

4: More location shooting - as many have already stated, go up to Denver for one or two weeks a year and film locally. I've said it before but Dynasty always felt like it could've been anywhere. Knots had a warm Californian feel to it, Dallas was dusty out on the Texan ranch and Falcon Crest looked lush among the vineyards of the valley. Dynasty had some nice gardens and the odd skyscraper but it really could have been located anywhere.

5: Sammy Jo & Adam as a couple - you would've thought that this was a no-brainer for writers but obviously not. The two bitches from hell teaming up to wreak havoc on their family. It also would've added fuel to the fire of a Sammy Jo vs Claudia feud, which we caught glimpses of over the years (like in the below clip) but was criminally underdeveloped despite it's obvious delicious potential.

 

Willie Oleson

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"Krystle" who is actually seeing all this coverage on TV while locked in the attic.
Coverage, indeed. You'd *think* that all this was big news, or at least in Denver. Having the media involved would make it seem more real, and maybe more exciting too.
It would make Michael and Amanda sort of celebrities, and then maybe they would act like it.
Not fire Oxenberg
I've never been Amanda's biggest fan so I don't consider this one of my Dynasty pet peeves. And if her season 7 storyline would have been the same i.e. romantically involved with the other Michael then it would only have been slightly less boring.
Maybe she could have tried to save Claudia, and they both die. If Falcon Crest can do it then why not Dynasty.
Dynasty had some nice gardens and the odd skyscraper but it really could have been located anywhere.
I'd settle for some Colorado-esque scenery even if the mountains were located in Canada. Nothing wrong with creating an illusion.
But shooting a street scene on the studio's parking lot, well that's really poor.
Sammy Jo & Adam as a couple
Why is it that I just can't see it? It makes perfect sense and yet...there's something about these two characters that makes it hard to mix.
Is it because they're both predators? Adam usually has a taste for the weak, Sammy Jo has a taste for money and doesn't care about the Carringtons at all. But to Adam, being a Carrington means everything.
And what would Mamalexis say?
 

Snarky Oracle!

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Why is it that I just can't see it? It makes perfect sense and yet...there's something about these two characters that makes it hard to mix.
Is it because they're both predators? Adam usually has a taste for the weak, Sammy Jo has a taste for money and doesn't care about the Carringtons at all. But to Adam, being a Carrington means everything.
And what would Mamalexis say?
Adam and Sammy Jo would be like a hetero Leopold & Loeb couple --- two ghastly people made even worse when together.

And what would Alexis say? Bad things, of course. But once she convinces Prince Michael to have Sammy Jo kidnapped in order to force-abort his baby, the girl will be decimated for the immediate future.

 
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Ked

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1: Have Dominique as a one season wonder

Yes to making Dominique wreak havoc, but I gotta say no to her dying in Moldavia. Instead, I'd immediately plonk her right down on THE COLBYS, and have her daughter, Jackie, chasing after Miles. Add that to both Garrett AND Zach Powers chasing Dominique, along with Dominique feeling its her "auntly duties" to assist amnesiac Fallon to get back home to Blake - which of course would enrage Sable ("How dare you interfere with my son's marriage?! You only want Fallon gone so your own daughter can sink her hooks into Miles!"), and we not only get Fallon back where she belongs (back on DYNASTY so she can catfight with her sister), but we finally have a worthy rival for Stephanie Beacham. :D:D:D

2: Redo the Rita plot

BUT I LOVE THE TWIN-CATFIGHT!!!!!! :sad: ...Ahem. But I really do like your idea about Krystle on trial for Joel's death. Now THAT would have been a great payoff! :D:D:D

3: Not fire Oxenberg

:clap::clap::clap: Yes, having Amanda completely spiral out of control in Season 6 would have been great. Plus in Season 7, I would have had it so that Michael Culhane doesn't return for cliched "revenge", but instead to show off his newfound wealth. And finding out that Blake is now penniless only causes Michael to laugh his @$$ his off and mockingly suggest that Blake now become *his* chauffeur. However, Blake, realizing he can now use Culhane as a new backer, asks Amanda to get in Michael's good graces and try to convince him to help out her father. This leads to an 'unexpected' romance, with Michael marrying his ex-lover's sister. But thankfully Blake doesn't have to endure this for long, as Michael gets assassinated by some of his mafia connections, leaving Amanda a wealthy widow.

4: More location shooting

Yup. :)

5: Sammy Jo & Adam as a couple
Why is it that I just can't see it? It makes perfect sense and yet...there's something about these two characters that makes it hard to mix.
Is it because they're both predators? Adam usually has a taste for the weak, Sammy Jo has a taste for money and doesn't care about the Carringtons at all. But to Adam, being a Carrington means everything.
And what would Mamalexis say?
Adam and Sammy Jo would be like a hetero Leopold & Loeb couple --- two ghastly people made even worse when together.

And what would Alexis say? Bad things, of course. But once she convinces Prince Michael to have Sammy Jo kidnapped in order to force-abort his baby, the girl will be decimated for the immediate future.

You know something I noticed about Adam and Sammy Jo? I don't think I've ever seen anyone come up with any specific storyline idea for those two. All I've ever seen is "Adam and Sammy Jo should have gotten together", but I never hear anything else about them.

I mean, what would Adam and Sammy Jo *do* together? *Aside* from "make each other worse"?

The only thing I can think of is Adam becoming involved with the Rita plot, forcing Rita to help convince Blake to go along with some of Adam's business ventures and whatnot; and later, Adam helping Sammy Jo avoid getting arrested by convincing everyone that she was just as ignorant of Joel and Rita's plot (because Adam himself was not suspect).
 
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