In the Spotlight with.. Angela Channing

[Angela Channing]

Hi @bmasters9, thanks for your question.

25. Why do you have the username of the main character (villain) in Falcon Crest (the late Jane Wyman)? @bmasters9
When I first joined this forum it was just for Dallas, it was even called The Oil Baron's Club. When I was thinking of a forum name I noticed that most members used the names of characters or events from the show eg. MrsJock, BarnesWentworth, TheRealCliffBarnes, GoldCanyon340, etc. However, all the main ones were taken so I chose the name of one of my favourite Dallas characters, Cliff Barnes, with a number added to the end to differentiate from the other Cliff Barnes's on here at that time. After a while I realised that it was easy to confuse forum members with similar names so I changed mine to a more minor character whose name hadn't been taken already and for a while I was Vaughan Leeland (misspelt with the addition of the second "a" in Vaughn). I wasn't satisfied with this so I decided to use the name of the lead character of my second favourite show: Angela Channing from Falcon Crest, even though there wasn't a Falcon Crest forum at the time. I love the character and I'm a long time Jane Wyman fan so I've always been very happy with the name I finally settled on.

 

[Barbara Fan]

Whats the best English game you have watched? @Barbara Fan

I think the most excited i have ever been (and i had 2 baths that evening) was the World Cup Italia 1990 and
England v Germany penalties semi-final and England lose on penalties and the Gazza moment
I was a spent force that night!

 

[Emelee]

22. What would be your dream job? @Emelee
I'd like to be a film director. I do some video editing in my spare time using stock footage but it would be so interesting to take that a stage further and direct the clips myself and create a cinematic masterpiece.

Who are your favourite directors and your favourite movies by them?

 

[Barbara Fan]

Thanks @Angela Channing for such great answers

A few Dallas related

When did you become a fan of Dallas?
What is your fav episode (my guess you will say Swan Song/ yes / no / lol)
Which character would you like to be on Dallas if you could play anyone?

A few Falcon Crest / JW Related
What was your favourite episode of FC?
Asides from Johnny Belinda (one of my mums fav JW films) what other films of Jane Wyman do you like?
Falcon Crest never seemd to get the same publicity as Dallas or even Dysentry (ugh) (in the words of late great Terry Wogan,) why do you think that is?
I was out the night it was shown in UK, but my mum liked it - think because it has Jane Wyman in it

And non soap related - If you could live through any period in history, what would you choose and why?
(mine is Tudor/Elizabethan but id like to keep my neck intact!)

because it was just covered the usual stories that Larry, Linda and Patrick always tell

re Wogan - i was super excited that day and got to ask Pat D a question - but do agree, a few different stories rather than same old same old would be nice and if Victoria P had been included - well that would have been ace! I had to run at the end, as i had a plane at 9pm - saw a bus outside Shepherds bush for Hammersmith and legged it as i knew i could get the tube from there

 

[Angela Channing]

@Barbara Fan, I just realised I overlooked 2 of your questions, I do apologise:

26. Who are your fav English players past and present (Not Arsenal players)? @Barbara Fan
I've always been a Gary Lineker fan because not only was he a great England player but also a great leader who commanded the respect of his fellow players and the public alike. Paul Gascoigne who could turn a match on a moment of brilliance and when he was in the England team you always felt he could pull out some magic to win a match. Viv Anderson was one of the best England defenders in my lifetime.

27. What's the best English game you have watched? @Barbara Fan
Probably when England beat Germany 0-5 away in 2001. England needed to win the match to qualify for the World Cup in 2002 but Germany were the hot favourites as they had only ever lost one qualifying match at home in their history. The way the England team took apart Germany was magnificent and their wasn't a weak link in the entire team.

 

[Angela Channing]

I think the most excited i have ever been (and i had 2 baths that evening) was the World Cup Italia 1990 and
England v Germany penalties semi-final and England lose on penalties and the Gazza moment
I was a spent force that night!

When England matches go to penalties it hard to enjoy the match because so much is at stake and the outcome changes within seconds. It does make for exciting football though.

 

[Karin Schill]

Hey @Barbara Fan, thanks for your questions.

16. Do you run for any particular charity? @Barbara Fan
Every marathon I ran I used to alternate between raising money for the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK. I support the BHF because my dad died of heart disease when he was in his mid 40s and I lost my sister to cancer when she was a similar age. I now mostly support Cardiomyopathy UK as I prefer how they spend money with more going to the cause rather on overheads.

Aww, I am very sorry to hear that you've lost both your dad and your sister so early to horrible diseases.
I hope your mum is still alive and well.

I agree that it's better to give money to a cause that spend it where it is supposed to go instead of on overheads.

Some more questions:

Do you have any other siblings?

Is Dallas your favorite show? (since you said Falcon Crest was your second most favorite)

Also since your dream job is film director, what experience have you had of show biz so far?

 

[Angela Channing]

28. Who are your favourite directors and your favourite movies by them? @Emelee
There are so many. Of current directors I like visual spectacular of Terrence Malik films. His films has such a distinctive look to them and every scene is beautifully shot. Sometimes I think his films are a triumph of style over substance. My favourite film of his is Tree of Life (2011). James Cameron is probably my favourite director of action films and I think Terminator and Terminator 2 are masterpieces of cinema. I also like the work of Milos Foreman and my favourite films of his are Amadeus (1985) and Hair (1979). For raw drama it hard to better Krzysztof Kieślowski and his A Short Film About Killing (1988) is one of the most brutal just sympathetic and emotional films I've seen.

 

[Angela Channing]

29. When did you become a fan of Dallas? @Barbara Fan
I watched it from the start (yes, I'm really that old). It was screened on BBC1 on Tuesdays at 8.10 pm when I was in junior school and my favourite show at the time was Fantasy Island which was on ITV at 8.00 pm on the same day. I was watching Fantasy Island and my mum said she wanted to watch this new show called Dallas and as I hogged the TV and it was the only thing she wanted to watch I relented and we watched it together. I'm not sure why I immediately liked the show but I think a lot of it was due to it being one of the few shows that I would watch with my mum.

30. What is your fav episode (my guess you will say Swan Song/ yes / no / lol) @Barbara Fan
Yes it's Swan Song, I think I said many times that it is my favourite episode. In many ways it's the perfect episode of Dallas from the emotional highs of Bobby proposing the Pam, to the horror of him being mowed down by Katherine to his death bed scene with the family around him. If I had to chose an episode that wasn't a season finale, I would choose Things Ain’t Goin’ Too Good at Southfork (such a well constructed episode starting with Sue Ellen starting drinking again and ending with her crashing her car with Mickey in it) and Ellie Saves The Day.

31. Which character would you like to be on Dallas if you could play anyone? @Barbara Fan
Clayton Farlow because he always seemed to be a decent person. Although I found JR and Cliff may more interesting to watch, I wouldn't want to live their lives.

32. What was your favourite episode of FC? @Barbara Fan
Desperation, the episode in which Angela discovers that Richard Channing is her son. I always describe it as one of the best and most unexpected twists I've seen in any TV show and the way they pulled it off using footage of Jane Wyman in her film The Blue Veil gave it a lot of credibility. A close second is Climax, the episode in which Julia is revealed as Carlo Agretti's killer and then she shoots a kills someone but we don't find out who until the next season. This cliffhanger was every bit as gripping as Who Shot JR.

33. Asides from Johnny Belinda (one of my mums fav JW films) what other films of Jane Wyman do you like? @Barbara Fan
The Blue Veil (1951). A real weepy in which Jane Wyman plays a woman who miscarries her child and becomes a nanny and devotes her life to looking after a boy and when she is old he return the favour. All That Heaven Allows (1955) and Magnificent Obsession (1954) are my next favourites.

34. Falcon Crest never seemd to get the same publicity as Dallas or even Dysentry (ugh) (in the words of late great Terry Wogan,) why do you think that is? @Barbara Fan
I'm convinced it was because it was an ITV show. ITV never promoted it and even though it got good ratings at first they never gave the show the respect it deserved. After the first 2 seasons, different TV regions showed it at different times and on different days so it was hard to build an audience. Thames TV moved it from prime time because they knew that repeats of Minder, their most popular show at the time, would get a bigger audience in Falcon Crest's prime time slot. Had Falcon Crest been on BBC1 I feel it would have been as popular as Dallas and Dynasty in the UK.

35. If you could live through any period in history, what would you choose and why? @Barbara Fan
I wouldn't want to go too far back in time but to the 2 decades before I was born, the 1950s and 1960s as that era fascinates me because it was a time of great social change and liberation.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Angela + Apollo looks like the perfect main title card, don't you agree?
Speaking of intros, what's your favourite "Falcon Crest meets…." ? (Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, Flamingo Road, Hotel etc etc)

This is so brilliant

 

[Angela Channing]

Aww, I am very sorry to hear that you've lost both your dad and your sister so early to horrible diseases.
I hope your mum is still alive and well.

Thanks Karin.

Sadly my mother died a couple of months after my sister in what was my annus horribilis. That was 4 years ago; it was a difficult time for my family but we came through it.

 

[Angela Channing]

36. Do you have any other siblings? @Karin Schill
Yes, I have a brother and a sister. I'm the second youngest.

37. Is Dallas your favorite show? (since you said Falcon Crest was your second most favorite) @Karin Schill
Yes, Dallas is my favourite TV show of all time although there were time when Falcon Crest was better than Dallas and when Dallas was bad it was truly awful (Laurel Ellis anyone?). However, at it's best Dallas was untouchable.

38. Also since your dream job is film director, what experience have you had of show biz so far? @Karin Schill
I've done some work as a film extra and I been a consultant on a TV show but nothing close to directing. That's a fantasy rather than a realistic prospect.

 

[Angela Channing]

39. Angela + Apollo looks like the perfect main title card, don't you agree? @Willie Oleson
Angela only had one memorable scene with Apollo and that was in the first episode, the final scene (the middle gif in my signature). I associate Apollo more with Lance and Angela more with scheming.

40. Speaking of intros, what's your favourite "Falcon Crest meets…." ? (Dallas, Dynasty, Knots Landing, Flamingo Road, Hotel etc etc) @Willie Oleson
I really like the Knots Landing one partly because I really like the Knots opening titles with the various scenes scrolling across the screen but also because I do a bit of video editing so I can appreciate just how much work must have gone into producing this video:

 

[supermanfan]

Do you like to cook?

 

[Michelle Stevens]

So many of the members have asked questions I would have asked and I was always curious about your connection to Jamaica.

Are there places in the world you'd like to see, a bucket-list of sorts for travel if you like traveling?

Have you been to the United States?

Will Charles W. Kingsfield make an appearance at the Telly Talk Cafe?

 

[Gioberti84]

Hi! Have you seen the unaired FC predecessor "The Vintage Years", posted online?

 

[pete lashmar]

Hi @Angela Channing - really enjoying reading your responses this week and finding out about your likes and dislikes.

Can I ask if you actually like wine, and, if so, what is/are your favourite(s)
Also, as a savoury person (I am too), what would your stay in and watch a good film consist of as far as drinks and snacks are concerned?

I'm also an Arsenal fan and loved your run down of players over the years and agree 100% with your choices.

And another question - what would be the first thing you'd buy after a jackpot lottery win?

 

[Angela Channing]

Hi @superman fan, thanks for your question:

41. Do you like to cook? @superman fan
I absolutely love to cook and have done so from a very young age. I'm always learning and trying out new things. I'm very experimental and rarely follow recipes, I normally just read them and improvise my own version of it using flavours and textures that I think work together well.

 

[Angela Channing]

Hey @Michelle Stevens , thanks for your questions.

42. Are there places in the world you'd like to see, a bucket-list of sorts for travel if you like traveling? @Michelle Stevens
There are so many. I've been to many destinations in Europe so I'd now like to explore Africa a bit, especially Kenya and South Africa. (Also see question 43).

43. Have you been to the United States? @Michelle Stevens
Yes, I've been to New York and loved it. I want to visit other states, particularly California because I'm interested in film and would love to go to Hollywood, and also Nevada because I've always been fascinated with Las Vegas.

44. Will Charles W. Kingsfield make an appearance at the Telly Talk Cafe? @Michelle Stevens
I'd love to bring Charles back, I enjoyed playing that character. The story behind him was when @Ome was setting up the Soapchat Big Brother game he asked participants to create a character and at the time I had just watched the 1973 film The Paper Chase. I really like the film but it was the character of the law Professor, Charles Kingsfield, really stood out. He had quite a small role in the film but in every scene he was in he was mesmerising and I thought he would be an unusual but interesting housemate.

 

[Angela Channing]

Hi @Gioberti84, how are you? Thanks for your question:

45. Have you seen the unaired FC predecessor "The Vintage Years", posted online? @Gioberti84
Yes, I have, I saw it for the first time around 2 years ago. They recycled the storyline for the plot of an episode in season 1 but it was very different. Angela looked like my current avatar: she wore a grey wig and wore cardigans and everyone called her "Angie". I much prefer how she was portrayed once the full series went ahead. It was interesting to see how the series was originally planned to look and the producers clearly learned a lot from the pilot because the changes they made to how the series finally looked were an improvement.

What did you think of it?