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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 13474" data-attributes="member: 22">06/Feb/84: EMERALD POINT N.A.S.: Lost and Found v. 09/Feb/84: KNOTS LANDING: So Shall You Reap v. 10/Feb/84: DALLAS: Where is Poppa? v. 10/Feb/84: FALCON CREST: Changing Times v. 11/Feb/84: THE YELLOW ROSE: Land of the FreeTwo weeks after Peter de Vilbis’s engagement to Fallon on DYNASTY, Ben Gibson proposes to Val on KNOTS LANDING but does so over a bacon and avocado sandwich in Val’s kitchen rather than as part of a televised press conference at La Mirage. Meanwhile, on DALLAS, Mark Graison is still waiting for another former Mrs. Ewing to reply to his recent marriage proposal.When confronted by Tom Mallory over her involvement with the KGB on EMERALD POINT, Tiffany Case crumbles and insists she was forced into cooperating with them. When confronted by Mack MacKenzie over her involvement with the Wolfbridge Group on KNOTS LANDING, Abby remains defiant and admits nothing. When confronted by Bobby over his alleged blackmail on DALLAS, JR makes light of the whole idea.While JR wriggles off the hook with little effort, Tiffany and Abby fare less well. Tiffany is informed that the only way she can escape prosecution is to work as a double agent to bring down the Russians, and this week’s EP ep ends with her life in jeopardy. Meanwhile Gary hits the roof when he learns that Abby’s been secretly diverting funds from his company, and this week’s KNOTS ends with her driving away from his ranch having been given her marching orders. To make matters worse, her children have elected to stay behind with Gary.Another mother faces a similar loss on this week’s FALCON CREST when Angela makes her daughter-in-law an offer: if Melissa will sign over custody of Joseph so that Angela can trade him with the Giobertis for half of Falcon Crest, Angela will make Melissa her sole heir. It’s a shocking proposal that comes without warning yet we scarcely see Melissa deliberate at all before agreeing to it. (In contrast, Val mulls over Ben’s marriage proposal at length during a sequence that establishes the KNOTS’ convention of cross-cutting between two parallel conversations — on this occasion between Val confiding in Karen and Ben talking to Mack.) In its own way Melissa and Angela’s Faustian pact still feels momentous, especially in the way it references Julia, still languishing in the State Institute for the Criminally Insane. "Would you have sacrificed one of your children for Falcon Crest?” Melissa asks Angela. “I'm afraid I already have,” she replies. Fleetingly, it feels as if Melissa has no moral choice but to surrender her son.There’s a FALCON CREST party this week. Unlike the recent big balls on DALLAS and DYNASTY, it’s a somewhat impromptu affair - Terry persuades Michael to let her throw a small dinner party which soon escalates into a full-scale bash. The event itself, however, turns out to be an 80s soap classic. Specifically, it’s an early 80s Lorimar soap classic. It’s lean and it’s mean with nary a shoulder pad in sight. Everywhere you look secrets are being revealed, lies being told and illicit kisses stolen. When Richard turns on Melissa and brutally informs her he cannot possibly be the father of her unborn baby because he’s had a vasectomy, it evokes the crackle and hiss of JR and Sue Ellen snapping at each other in the darkness of Baby John's nursery or Constance glowering vengefully at Field and Lane after discovering them together in the shadows of early FLAMINGO ROAD.As one long-term friendship is mended on this week’s KNOTS - Karen and Laura’s - another falls into disrepair at the FALCON CREST party. Michael and Chase argue bitterly following Terry’s (false) allegation that Chase made a pass at her when they were living under the same roof. Michael then goes on to fulfill the same "inappropriately drunk" role at this party as Cliff Barnes did at JR and Sue Ellen’s wedding and Sammy Jo did at the big Carrington do in DYNASTY Season 2.That very DYNASTY episode ended the same way as this week’s FALCON CREST does — with two glamorously dressed women, one heavily pregnant, driving away from a party whilst fighting angrily about a man. (Then it was Fallon and Alexis rowing about Cecil Colby, here it’s Melissa and Linda fighting over Cole.) The force of the argument causes the driver to lose control of the car and swerve into some dramatically positioned road works. Screams. Freeze frame. End of episode.There's also a parallel between this scene in FALCON CREST and what happens to Sue Ellen on DALLAS. Just as Melissa is involved in a car accident after leaving a party so Sue Ellen is hit by a car while shopping for a dress for one (Punk and Mavis’s anniversary celebration). Also like Melissa, Sue Ellen is pregnant — although we don't find that out that until the doctor at Soap Land Memorial announces that she’s miscarried. Cut to JR and Peter both looking stunned. Freeze frame. End of episode.There’s really only one scene in this week’s YELLOW ROSE that resembles anything we see on the other soaps. On DALLAS, Bobby surprises Jenna's thirteen year old daughter Charlie by buying her a horse while his half-brother Ray looks on benignly. On THE YELLOW ROSE, Roy Champion surprises his twelve year old half-sister LC with an elementary school graduation gift of a locket while their half brother Chance looks on benignly. But whereas Charlie’s outing merely serves as an opportunity for Ray to tell Bobby of his suspicions regarding JR and Edgar Randolph, the theft of LC’s locket by a young Hispanic boy sparks off an entire story-line about child poverty, abuse and exploitation. Running alongside this story is an equally dramatic subplot which culminates in an illegal immigrant giving birth during a deadly shoot out with some crooked cops. All is well by the end of the hour, however, for this is an entirely stand alone episode. From a Soap Land perspective, where we’re used to seeing shows develop away from self-contained instalments towards more episodic storytelling instead of the other way around, it’s tempting to view this as a retrograde step (where the hell is Jane Russell anyhow?) but viewed on its own terms, this is still an absorbing, dramatic and touching ep with some lovely acting. In contrast to the other soaps, its lead characters espouse a belief in the American Dream that is neither cynical nor jingoistic. I guess the difference is that it sides unequivocally with the underdog — immigrants, underprivileged kids — against their exploiters.And this week’s Top 5 are …1 (2) FALCON CREST2 (1) KNOTS LANDING3 (3) DALLAS4 (-) THE YELLOW ROSE5 (5) EMERALD POINT N.A.S.</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?