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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 30633" data-attributes="member: 22">08 May 86: KNOTS LANDING: Thicker Than Water v. 09 May 86: DALLAS: Hello, Goodbye, Hello v. 09 May 86: FALCON CREST: ConsumedAs Soap Land business crises go, there’s something unusual about KNOTS LANDING's “arsenic poisoning at Lotus Point” storyline that I really like. It’s to do with the intangibility of the contamination itself. It’s under the ground, it’s in the water supply, it may even be in the air — but you can’t touch it, you can't see it. As such, unlike the various oil or wine-related dramas that occur on the other soaps, it’s a problem that no one on the show (with the possible exception of Greg Sumer) is equipped to deal with. At the end of the day, no one really knows what the hell to do, which only fuels the urgency and the unpredictability of the situation, and the friction between the characters. I guess one could draw a parallel between what has been going on beneath the surface of Empire Valley without anyone realising and what Lee Ying insists is about to occur in the Tuscany Valley without anyone else in FALCON CREST taking her seriously. “We are almost certain that you are going to have a minor earthquake in the next ten days,” she pronounces solemnly. “I’m not a big believer in earthquake predictions,” Peter Stavros smiles smugly. “This valley could do with a little shaking up!” jokes Lance complacently. Inbetween episodes of KNOTS, Gary has paid an offscreen visit to Dallas “to see if my family would finance the cleanup … There’s no oil under Empire Valley so they’re not interested.” And even if they were, JR’s not in any position to get involved. According to Marilee Stone, he’s cash poor. “That billion dollar loan is costing you almost two million dollars a week,” adds banker Franklin Horner, who this time last year was busy blowing his brains out on KNOTS as a result of his own financial problems. JR’s situation on DALLAS and Abby’s on KNOTS are similar. This week’s KNOTS begins with Abby holding a press conference to assure the public that, despite reports to the contrary, “There is absolutely nothing wrong with the drinking water here at Lotus Point.” (Her Eva Peron-style, woman-of-the-people stunt of drinking a glass of Lotus Point water before the assembled media is a particularly nice touch.) Meanwhile, Karen is breaking the news to Lotus Point's employees that she is closing down the resort. Over on DALLAS, due to the drop in oil prices, attorney Alex Garrett has shut down the Marinos/Ewing oil wells — the very wells JR is depending on to stay afloat. Needless to say, Abby and JR are far from happy with these decisions. "Alex, I’m warning you. You’re making a mistake doing this to Ewing Oil … I want those wells uncapped and pumping right now!” barks JR over the phone.  “How dare you, Karen — where the hell do you come off, closing Lotus Point? … I’ve got as much at stake here as you do!” yells Abby, barging into her partner’s office.  Unlike JR, who stands to lose everything (“I’ve been counting on the income from the Venezuelan fields — I mean, really counting on it”), Abby still has what she terms “insurance”, i.e., her investment in Peter Hollister’s claim to the Galveston fortune. This storyline takes an unexpected turn when Greg offers Peter an intriguing ultimatum: he’ll acknowledge him as his brother (and make him an appropriate financial settlement) on the condition that Peter runs for the senate. "If you’re ever gonna be a Galveston, kid, now is the time,” Greg tells him. "I’m only gonna let it happen if it happens on my terms.” Abby’s all for the idea, as she indicates when she shows up at Peter’s apartment late at night with a bottle of champagne. ”The sooner you sign that document, the sooner you’re going to learn that being rich and powerful is a very nice way to live,” she says before taking him to bed. This also being the week that JR and Sue Ellen’s reconciliation is consummated, we are treated to scenes of post-coital pillow talk on both KNOTS and DALLAS. “Feels like New Year’s Eve,” says Peter, nuzzling Abby’s neck between shiny satin sheets. “You’ll never know how happy you’ve made me tonight,” pants JR as Sue Ellen lies beside him. From there, the subject matter of the two scenes diverge. While Abby’s mind is as much on power as passion (“Just think — all that Galveston money behind you,” she purrs to Peter), Sue Ellen makes a declaration of fidelity: “JR, when I came into your bed tonight and we made love, I made a total commitment to you.” JR doesn’t get around to discussing business with his wife until the following morning. “My company’s in trouble, Sue Ellen, and I just don’t know what to do about it,” he admits before dropping her off at her office. Like Abby and Peter, FALCON CREST’s Melissa Agretti and Eric Stavros are also mixing business with pleasure. They've opened up a winery at the same time as conducting a romance. Melissa’s attitude is more frivolous than Abby’s, however. She’s more interested in putting her enemies' noses out of joint than garnering wealth and power. “Did you see Angela watching us?” she giggles to Eric. "She was green with envy … The Agretti harvest is home to stay. Angela, Chase, Cole, Lance — they can all take a flying jump at the moon!”  KNOTS LANDING’s Cathy and DALLAS’s Mandy are living in similarly self-absorbed fantasy worlds this week. As Ben watches Cathy scrutinising publicity photos of herself while listening to one of her own recordings, Mandy sends JR an album of sexy modelling shots of herself with the message, “Ready when you are, JR.” Each woman is determined to build a future with a married man, but seems to be in denial about the reality of the situation. Just as Cathy wants Ben to accompany her on her tour but refuses to face the implications this would have for Val and the twins, Mandy is still hopeful of a reconciliation with JR even though he is now back with Sue Ellen. By the end of their respective episodes, both have brought down to reality with a bump — Cathy by a slap across the face from Lilimae (just like Krystle and Claudia on last week’s DYNASTY, this pair of formerly close friends also part on bad terms) and Mandy by JR himself (“I only love and want Sue Ellen … goodbye,” he tells her) — and the last we see of either is them bursting into tears. As Lilimae tries to save her daughter’s marriage on KNOTS, her one-time Ewing-verse counterpart, Aunt Lil, similarly rides to the rescue of Ray and Donna’s family on DALLAS. The Krebbses’ petition to adopt Tony having been declined due to Ray’s criminal record, Lil speaks at an appeal hearing to explain the circumstances that led to the death of her son Mickey. She repeats the testimony she gave at Ray’s murder trial almost word for word and it proves to be just as persuasive as it was then — it prompts the judge to overturn the original ruling and grant the adoption. (Considering how slowly the wheels of justice have been grinding elsewhere in Soap Land of late — the Empire Valley pollution storyline on KNOTS, the Jeff Wainwright stalker scenario on FC — the law moves at lightning speed in this situation, with the Krebbses’ appeal being arranged, conducted and ruled upon all in within the space of a few days.) While Val begs Ben not to leave her on KNOTS (“I don’t want you to go,” she says, clinging onto him), JR gently suggests to Mandy on DALLAS that “the best thing for you to do would be to leave here, go somewhere where you might meet someone who’s not in love with another woman.” Over on FALCON CREST, Richard Channing orders Miss Jones to “make yourself scarce — as in London.” Whereas JR finally gets through to Mandy, Val and Richard are each met with refusal. "Don’t make this anymore difficult than it is — I have got to go,” Ben tells Val. “I’m not going halfway around the world just so you can forget about me,” Miss Jones tells Richard. This week’s KNOTS and DALLAS are their penultimate episodes of the season. It’s surprising therefore that both shows find time to introduce a new storyline, each involving a key character’s past. On DALLAS, JR learns that as a young man, Mark Graison was involved in the hushed-up death of a college freshman. On KNOTS, a young self-possessed blonde turns up in various locations looking for Mack, in much the same way that another young self-possessed blonde turned up various places looking for Alexis at the beginning of last season’s DYNASTY. Whereas Amanda Bedford chose the front page of the Denver Chronicle upon which to announce that she was Alexis’s daughter, Paige Matheson elects the Mackenzie living room as a suitable venue in which to smilingly inform Mack that she is his offspring. The dramatic impact is not diminished by the domestic setting.While Mack fails to recognise his own daughter — at first glance, he assumes her to be a friend of Eric and Michael — DALLAS newcomer Ben Stivers proves strangely familiar. “I could have sworn I’d met him somewhere before,” comments Punk Anderson, echoing Dex Dexter’s words about another Ben on last week’s DYNASTY ("I know your face, Carrington”). “There’s just something about him,” Miss Ellie concurs.DALLAS’s Angelica Nero and FALCON CREST’s Jeff Wainwright have both been hovering menacingly on the periphery of their respective shows for some weeks now. While Angelica’s actions have been deliberate and calculating — we’ve seen her do business with a bomb-making expert and a couple of first-class forgers — Jeff’s behaviour seems altogether more emotional and impulsive. This week, he enjoys romantic interludes with Fantasy Maggie while sending anonymous bouquets to her real life equivalent. Whatever their differences, Angelica and Jeff both end this week’s episodes the same way — by coming face to face with their prey with a gun in their hand. “Well, Mr Ewing, we have some unfinished business,” says Angelica while pointing a pistol at JR in an underground parking garage. “Come on, Maggie, it’s time to leave,” says Jeff as he steals into the Gioberti bedroom brandishing a hunting rifle. “This is something we both want,” he adds chillingly.And this week’s Top 3 are …1 (2) KNOTS LANDING2 (4) DALLAS 3 (5) FALCON CREST</blockquote>

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