shaqattaq ranks Knots Landing

[Patrice]

I didn't come here for a while due to some personal issues and I'm not reappearing to be polemical... Anyway... What you write is quite interesting @shaqattaq32 , but...
No offense nor bad feelings , there is not really any interaction here, just a monologue, since you're the only one ranking things, without willing to know what would be other people's choices/rankings, that would initiate some discussion, debate and some fun!

 

[shaqattaq32]

I didn't come here for a while due to some personal issues and I'm not reappearing to be polemical... Anyway... What you write is quite interesting @shaqattaq32 , but...
No offense nor bad feelings , there is not really any interaction here, just a monologue, since you're the only one ranking things, without willing to know what would be other people's choices/rankings, that would initiate some discussion, debate and some fun!

I guess it is kinda surprising that a thread titled "shaqattaq ranks things" would be about shaqattaq ranking things. i gotta choose my thread titles better in the future.

 

[Patrice]

I guess it is kinda surprising that a thread titled "shaqattaq ranks things" would be about shaqattaq ranking things. i gotta choose my thread titles better in the future.

As a matter of fact, no it is not surprising at all. Touché Good point, everything is in the title. I think it is also what I tried to pinpoint... So, I won't interrupt this monologue anymore, I promise

 

[Jimmy Todd]

I'm surprised seasons 12 and 13 will rank higher than season 8. Season 8 was much more "knotty," while the other two seasons seemed more typically soapy and contrived.
I like reading your posts and comments. I'm looking forward to how the other seasons are ranked.

 

[Julia's Gun]

Well I quite enjoy reading these, and post here and there. Let's encourage some more debate!

 

[TaranofPrydain]

9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)

This one is OK. There’s something I love about the way Southern California looks on 70s and early 80s television shows, and this cliffhanger has that look. I can’t quite place what it is, but it adds something special to shows from that era. I think because tv shows in that era were selling California as paradise. We still had BH90210 doing that in the 90s and the OC doing it in the 2000s. From the vantage point of 2024, it seems ridiculous that anyone would consider California to be paradise. And then you remember that as ahead of its time as Knots was, and as timeless as many of its characters are, you’re watching a show from over 40 years ago.

I digressed for longer than I meant to in the first paragraph. This is an OK cliffhanger, but it’s not as exciting as it could be because you know there’s absolutely no way they’re going to kill Sid off. It’s also kind of silly - you mean to tell me Sid drove all that way without realizing his breaks were cut? He must be a speed demon.

The conversation in Sid’s car is a bit interesting. It’s remarked that Jeff may have a chance of getting custody from Abby, even though ten years ago he wouldn’t have stood a shot. And you remember just how fast society was changing at the time Knots was on the air. It really should be studied for how well it encapsulated a certain era of American history. And then you realize that Sid himself was an anachronism, and by 1993 when Knots ended the idea of a character like Sid being a leading man on a prime time soap would seem absurd.

anyway, I keep digressing. The first time I watched this, it didn’t necessarily make me want to keep watching. I watched Knots for the first time on SoapNet in the mid 2000s because it had such a great reputation as the highest quality 80s primetime soap. But I kept waiting for it to get good - luckily I was aware that the first few seasons were considered slow and it didn’t really take off until later. But did this cliffhanger make me think it was good yet?

lolno.


Cliffhangers ranked thus far:

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)
Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)
Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")
Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)
Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)
Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)

I'm not really sure that the cliffhanger works in itself, as it feels somewhat low-rent for Knots in general, as it could be at the end of a more generic show, but at the same time I think that it works as kind of suddenly slamming the door shut on the non-serialized form of the first two seasons and getting into the emotional red meat that was hinted at a few times before (Lilimae's first visit, Laura's issues) that would enter into full bloom in Season 3.

 

[shaqattaq32]

7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)

Every aspect of this is so very bizarre that I just can't bring myself to dislike it, but it would be very wrong for it to make the top half. But I brought it as far into this ranking as I possibly could because I enjoy how very much of its time it was and I find it fascinating that multiple people must have realized how weird it was but every went in earnestly to make it as good as they possibly could in spite of its extreme WTF factor.

By season 12, the writers had gone all in on making Karen the every woman, the voice of the people, whether it was talking about such banal subjects as how addictive it is to use credit cards or the (in)famous Pollyanna speech. Some consider the Pollyanna speech to be the distillation of Karen's character, but it's honestly always made me gag. I hate it. First of all because of how phony it is. Nobody would ever talk like that. Second of all because of how obnoxiously vomit-inducing it is in its moralistic preachiness. And third of all because it just isn't Karen. This is a new character the writers have created - Little Miss Perfect, not the Karen we know and love (and unfortunately, that Karen won't be coming back until season 14, but boy does she come back with a vengeance.)

So I think that's what they were going for in this cliffhanger? When you think about the early 90s, crime was in the news a lot. It was a hot button issue. So I think they got the idea in the writers' room to have Karen again be the voice of the people - supermom - the savior of suburbia, she who is NOT going to take it anymore! But it's probably one of those ideas that sounded wayyyy different in the writer's room than it actually turned out in execution.

Which is good, because another boring preachy Pollyanna speech would have been quite lame. What we got is a glorious clusterfuck.

Karen truly earns her name as she is shot with a paintball by some dang rowdy teenagers who quickly drive away, and then gets back in her car and pursues them at high speed! We see a side of Michele Lee we've never seen before, a side that is bordering on Kathleen Turner Serial Mom. The expression on her face is pure rage. The high speed chase in her early 90s sedan and then, after the teens blow a red light and are struck by an eighteen-wheeler, Karen walks up to their car and finds punk rock white subruban teenagers in jean jackets. And.... oh no! Jason is in the backseat! Is it wrong that I crossed my fingers and hoped he would be dead by the season 13 premiere? Season 12 had too many preachy storylines.

lol. I mean... what on earth were they thinking? How was this going to resolve next season? How did nobody at any point in time stop and say, "Hmmm. Maybe this isn't working the way we thought it would in the writers' room?" Or am I giving the writers too much credit, and the departing James Stanley and Dianne Messina just didn't care with their feet already halfway out the door? But even then, how did this get by Michele Lee, and David Jacobs? So many questions.

And yet...

I can't look away. I watched this over and over on repeat the other day. And just cracked up laughing and looking for deeper meaning that probably wasn't there.

So idk. Does the scene work for me in spite of itself? Does it work on a purely ironic level? Do I love how dated it is to a very specific point in time? All of the above? IDK what exactly it is. But as Russell Crowe said...

Cliffhangers ranked thus far:

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)
8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)
Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)
Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")
Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)
Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)

 

[Willie Oleson]

Karen truly earns her name as she is shot with a paintball by some dang rowdy teenagers who quickly drive away, and then gets back in her car and pursues them at high speed! We see a side of Michele Lee we've never seen before, a side that is bordering on Kathleen Turner Serial Mom

Actually I can see her doing this in season 1.

I have no idea how it feels to get shot with paintball (is it a ball or just paint?) but she kinda looks as if it hurts.

Perhaps her action was more like a reaction to the possibility that they could have shot one of the kids (in the face).
Furthermore, this was only one of the four cliffhanger stories so I'd say there's actually very much going on here. I was very surprised to see that my least favourite season got one of the best cliffhangers. I wish the fire in the Sumner building had happened in the season finale

 

[shaqattaq32]

Actually I can see her doing this in season 1.

I have no idea how it feels to get shot with paintball (is it a ball or just paint?) but she kinda looks as if it hurts.
View attachment 52754
Perhaps her action was more like a reaction to the possibility that they could have shot one of the kids (in the face).
Furthermore, this was only one of the four cliffhanger stories so I'd say there's actually very much going on here. I was very surprised to see that my least favourite season got one of the best cliffhangers. I wish the fire in the Sumner building had happened in the season finale

When I watched it yesterday to prepare for this I saw the scene with Tom walking in and telling Paige to get an attorney — probably that would have been a more… conventional ending to the season. I agree, I realized I probably should have included that, but it was too late. That scene is really good. Shame it doesn’t go anywhere in season 13.

what were the other two? I’m too lazy to look. Oooh wait, wasn’t one of them Claudia getting her son killed? Ok, what was the other?

I’m showing how little I’ve rewatched seasons 11/12. It’s hard for me to remember what was going on.

ooooh wait, was the other Anne being homeless? Just awful.

 

[shaqattaq32]

View attachment 52754

Thanks for being ready with the screenshot. All of Michele Lee’s facial expressions in this scene are pure gold.

As for whether or not paintballs hurt, if I were the kind of kid who went paintballing, I probably wouldn’t have been the kind of kid who watched Knots Landing

 

[shaqattaq32]

6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and behind Paige in her car)

Another one that I carried as far as I could in this ranking before I had to axe it in favor of superior cliffhangers.

There are certain soap opera tropes that might seem ridiculous to the non-soap fan, but we soap fans just accept them. Soap fandom is often hereditary (I know it was for me) and it’s almost like our mothers and grandmothers have passed on to us soap fans an immunity to disbelief.

The true climax to season 13 came two episodes ago when Pierce kidnapped Paige on a boat and became increasingly out of touch with reality, believing she was his dead pregnant girlfriend Margaret. That episode ended with Pierce, Mack, and Greg in the water. The next episode opens with Paige and Mack reviving Greg, while Pierce is nowhere to be found. The characters believe he has drowned, but that it may take a while to locate his body. We all know, of course, that Pierce is alive, because this is a soap opera, and the soap opera rules apply.

What are the soap opera rules? For one, fertility is entirely inversely proportional to desire to get pregnant, and the less ideal the circumstances for a character to get pregnant, the more likely that character will get pregnant. Knots itself has already employed this trope with Karen, Laura, and Val (not to mention Ciji!)

But alas, that is not the trope we’re discussing today. The trope we’re discussing today is the indestructibility of soap villains. When Pierce went in the water, of course it was absolutely impossible that he could survive and swim all the way back to shore without drowning. But he’s a soap villain, so he grew gills or something. Whatever, we forgive.

We knew Pierce would be back, but we didn’t quite know when. So we’re as caught off guard as Paige is as she hops into her car in the Sumner Group garage, turns her rear view mirror, and finds Pierce’s creepy reflection staring back at her. As the scene progresses, a somewhat creepy piano score hints at the inevitable crisis to come, with the piano being replaced by a panicked string crescendo when Pierce utters the line, “Hello, Paige.”

This is the stuff out of horror movies! We all have that ex that we never want to see again under any circumstances. Imagine if that ex is also mentally ill and in your backseat.

Nicollette nails this cliffhanger with her gorgeous hair flip and the look of absolute horror on her face, and the sound effects the accompany the scene increase the already palpable ick factor.

What plans does Pierce have in store for her? It’s hard to imagine he can get much creepier than he already is. But I know that when I watched this, I absolutely couldn’t wait to find out. I loooove psychological thrillers and it seems like that was a big genre in the 90s, and this scene just has that feel to it. “Twin Peaks” has been mentioned when discussing this scene (a show I haven’t seen, so I can’t verify) but this scene also feels like it would’ve been at home on the X-Files.

It’s no secret that the first half of season 13 is not loved by Knots Landing fans. The first time I watched it, I agreed with others that certain aspects of it were very bizarre and out of place on Knots Landing, and yet I still found it more interesting and “fresh” seeming that the two seasons immediately preceding it. The second half definitely feels like a show majorly on the upswing. Even before the infamous production shutdown, the show was improving; Pierce’s heel turn, when he creepily tells Paige she doesn’t understand the power of water (a scene I love) occurred prior to the production shutdown. But after the production shutdown, it became must-see TV.

I knew I was heading into the final season the first time I watched this, and I was proud of myself for sticking through the early years that weren’t that consistently interesting, and then some rough middle years that I didn’t always love. And now Knots was back on top… would it stay that way going into its fourteenth and final season? I couldn’t wait to tune in and find out.


Cliffhangers ranked thus far:

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)
8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)
6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)
Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)
Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")
Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)

 

[shaqattaq32]

5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)

Now we're at the part where every remaining elimination is difficult and sad.

Pushed to the brink by Valene and Gary's never-ending drama that they feel the need to constantly pull the rest of Knots Landing into, Jill has just spent the previous two episodes coming up with an elaborate alibi and plan to kill Valene. Is this a heel turn for Jill, or has she kinda always been a low-key villain? Re-watching season 7 recently, I'm inclined to believe the latter.

Some people don't like this whole sequence, and I can understand why. It's certainly campy. This would seem more at place on Melrose Place than on Knots Landing. The dialogue, as TommyK mentions in his review of the season, is a bit too perfect. Hearing the dialogue, you understand what the expression "kill your darling" means. And yet, it totally works for me. I can understand where Jill is coming from. As much as I love Valene, Jill's point about "Poor Val" is completely valid. And the way Val and Gary never really tried to get out of each others' orbits really has been unfair to every lover each has had since their separation -- 6 long years ago by this point.

So I guess I'm down for it. Haven't we all wanted to be Jill before, finally getting revenge on that horrible, annoying person who just refuses to go away, finally finally squashing that obnoxious interloper like a bug ? Or is that just me?

So watching Jill make wisecracks as she enacts her plan of getting rid of Valene is almost like wish fulfillment. It may not be very realistic, but it's just too fun not to enjoy.

So now we arrive at the cliffhanger. Jill has made it back to San Francisco where David, her "one night stand" that she drugged, slept all night and wakes up to find Jill getting out of the shower. She has the perfect alibi. Then we see Valene's house with Jill's voiceover singing "Mockin' Bird Hill" and we find Valene sprawled on her carpet, passed out, her disconnected phone in hand.

We don't know what's coming next season. Surely Valene is not dead. But then, we thought Sid wouldn't be dead, and he was. But then we thought Gary was dead, and he wasn't. So who knows? But realistically, Valene is not gonna be dead, and Jill probably forgot some crucial detail in her plan that is going to lead to her getting caught 4 or 5 episodes into next season.

Still, even though you know there's a 99% chance that Valene is not dead, and a 95% chance Jill is going to get caught and everyone forget about it quickly, the idea of watching the conclusion play out is so tantalizing. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I think this cliffhanger isn't quite as good until you start watching the season 10 premiere -- holy crap, they added Jill to the opening credits? Is she gonna get away with it? This storyline really grows wings and becomes one of the best in season 10. So this is at number five, since the top four cliffhangers all stand better on their own without knowing how they're resolved.

Cliffhangers ranked thus far:

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)
8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)
6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)
5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)
Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)
Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")

 

[Willie Oleson]

Still, even though you know there's a 99% chance that Valene is not dead, and a 95% chance Jill is going to get caught

Now that you mentioned it...and I had never thought about it that way before...it's a strange no-win situation. If Valene dies, we're losing the queen of the cul-de-sac and if she doesn't die then the Perfect Crime isn't going to be perfect anymore.

I thought that Jill in the hospital in season 10 looked much campier than what she did in the season finale, and perhaps that's why this story's conclusion felt so drawn-out to me.
She had been absolutely terrific in season 9 and everything else before, and as with Danny Waleska in season 12 it looks like a post-climax petering out.

 

[shaqattaq32]

4. "Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!"

Mack and Ben are in one car with Gary and Karen in the other close behind them. They know that at least one of Val's missing babies is at the home of Sheila and Harry Fisher. Mack and Ben know the general neighborhood of where the house is, but not the exact address (you see, phonebooks were banned in Knots Landing.) They finally find the Fisher house, but Mack says just he and Karen should talk to the Fishers (in order to provide maximum drama by leaving Gary and Ben alone together.) Meanwhile, Abby and Val are separately on their way to the same exact address -- both parties unaware of the other.

Sheila answers the door with one of the babies. Mack and Karen are both happy to see a baby -- but their happiness quickly turns to horror as they remember why they're there. Sheila confirms that she and her husband adopted twins -- Michele Lee's face portrays simultaneous jubilation that they've found both the babies (as they didn't know whether both babies would be with the Fishers until just now) as well as heartbreak over what she knows Mack is about to reveal to Sheila. I like the actress who plays Sheila - she seems really sweet if not slightly off (a description that is not so much different from Valene herself TBH.) As Mack and Karen reveal the truth to Sheila and that they found the doctor who switched the babies (the doctor who met the business end of a revolver at the conclusion of the previous episode), Val and Abby pull up. They're shocked to see Ben and Gary, who are equally shocked to see them. I LOVE the wordless look that passes between Val and Abby - "What the hell are they doing here?" Valene asks with her eyes. "f*** if I know!" Abby replies with hers.

But Val forgets about Abby, Ben, and Gary when she hears a crying baby. As Mack continues to grill Sheila (and IMO, he comes across as a total jerk in this scene) over the Fishers' hastily packed suitcases, Valene walks up to get a closer look at her baby. Sheila panics as she finally spots Valene walking up to her.

As Harry pull up in a tank station wagon, a desperate Sheila sees her husband approaching, the dramatic music swells, and Valene whips around to briefly see her other baby in the passenger seat. "Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!" Sheila yells. Writer/Producer Lynn Marie Latham, who started working on Knots in season 6 and took over as head writer in season 8, stated that she hated the scene - she hated the idea of a woman shouting in a baby's ear. You mean to say you watch this dramatic scene, and that is what you hone in on? Drama gets messy. Sheila's grief and desperation are palpable, and I really think the "small" change in Latham's mind of not having her shout that would have made the scene much worse. Makes you wonder - during Latham's tenure as head writer, how many other brilliant moments did she veto because they hurt her sensibilities?

Sorry, I got a little off topic there. The first time I watched season 6, I loved it. On subsequent rewatches, I've definitely noticed the flaws. The pace of the season is SO FREAKING SLOW. Nothing on television would ever get made nowadays with a pace this slow. But the storyline of Valene's babies remains as compelling as ever on rewatch. There are certain episodes where the focus goes away from Valene and her babies for a while, and you search around and wait for any mention of the babies like an addict combing through the carpet for pieces of crack they may have dropped.

And this just wraps everything up so nicely, equally balancing rewarding us for our patience while still keeping the true end of the storyline until next season.

I have to say, getting everything and everyone in this scene was probably way more difficult than it seemed. I've seen examples of shows where everything hinges on getting the characters to a place, and when the show executes this badly, it means the crucial climax can't work. Take season 1 of Big Little Lies -- the entire season builds to a certain moment, and when that moment comes, it's a complete and total mess. But nobody kept many balls in the air at once better than Knots Landing. And when the crucial climax comes at the end of season 6, they seamlessly have so many characters in one place and pull it off without a hitch.

They wring out every bit of drama that they need to: Ben being put in the uncomfortable position of everyone assuming he's a deadbeat dad because he doesn't care enough about kids he knows aren't his, Gary wishing the kids were his (and perhaps knowing the truth deep down that they are), Abby feeling the insecurity that somehow she will be linked to the kidnapping, and also feeling the relief that finally she doesn't have to feel guilty that she kinda was, and of course, crucially, Valene briefly getting to see both of the babies before the episode and season 6 are through.

This scene has so much going on and so many people in it that it could have been a real mess, but it's a masterpiece.

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)
8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)
6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)
5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)
4. Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)
Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)

 

[Julia's Gun]

And when the crucial climax comes at the end of season 6, they seamlessly have so many characters in one place and pull it off without a hitch.

They did the same in season 5, with everyone converging at the hotel just in time for Karen to get shot and Abby kidnapped. But here it is just as gut-wrenching, without having dramatic shootings tagged on as well.
This is a wonderful, nostalgic scene, perhaps marking the high point of Knots that it never quite reached again. I love the way they chose a typical suburban house, but include the playground opposite, for Val to use early in the next season. The slow mo effects seem a bit dated now and of its time, but it adds this yearning sense of finality. Like the show could actually end here and we'd be left left never have known whether she got them both back. It's a bit like Gary's freeze frame in jail at the end of season 4. That also had the same finality, even though he got out in the next episode, the cliffhanger makes you feel like his life could be over and nothing would be quite the same again.

If anyone hasn't seen it, there is a lovely interview from a few years back, where Joan, Karen and Donna watch this whole final scene together, starting at 23:50. It's lovely to see their reactions and how much it means to them as well:

 

[shaqattaq32]

If anyone hasn't seen it, there is a lovely interview from a few years back, where Joan, Karen and Donna watch this whole final scene together, starting at 23:50. It's lovely to see their reactions and how much it means to them as well:

Thank you. I hadn’t seen this. Of course he picks the damn Pollyanna speech for Karen, but oh well. Am I the only one who hates it?

 

[Willie Oleson]

I LOVE the wordless look that passes between Val and Abby

I liked that there was music playing in Abby's car, it seems such an odd thing to do during a very crucial moment in someone's life.
But since this must have been a very conscious decision I guess it helped to mix the dialogue with the moments of silence. Not that the scene wouldn't work without the music, it's just another Knotsy example of making things as good as possible.
(and that's why we can't have the DVDs, damn you Abby)

Writer/Producer Lynn Marie Latham, who started working on Knots in season 6 and took over as head writer in season 8, stated that she hated the scene - she hated the idea of a woman shouting in a baby's ear

I'm a little fussy when it comes to the use of slow-motion (in any film or series). It only works for me when it looks great, anything less than great makes me grind my teeth.
The slow motion of the car sequence looks good, but not Valene's Wonder Woman spin and certainly not Sheila's vocal slow motion. "Haaa-wwwyyyy..." Ugh.

And this just wraps everything up so nicely, equally balancing rewarding us for our patience while still keeping the true end of the storyline until next season

And that's why I think it's so overrated as a cliffhanger. It's not as if the Fishers would hurt the babies or that Harry would flee the country and leave his wife and other child behind.
If anything, it's only a cliffhanger for the Fishers themselves.
Of course it's a very good episode, but the next episode's cliffhanger almost turns everything upside down and I think that would have been a better choice.

And when the crucial climax comes at the end of season 6, they seamlessly have so many characters in one place and pull it off without a hitch.

Yes, it's a quintessential cul-de-sac scene, even if it's happening in a different neighbourhood.

They're shocked to see Ben and Gary

Mostly Abby, I think. I guess she wanted to wrap things up quietly, so, to see that bunch of spectators must have been a real bummer.

Ben being put in the uncomfortable position of everyone assuming he's a deadbeat dad because he doesn't care enough about kids he knows aren't his, Gary wishing the kids were his (and perhaps knowing the truth deep down that they are)

Yeah. It's the way Gary says to Ben "if those were my kids...", there is something teasing in his intonation. Quite nasty, actually. You can take the Ewing out of Dallas....

Speaking of villains - and something I hadn't noticed the first time - Abby selfishly uses the news of Bobby's death to make Karen stop asking questions. But since Bobby faked it I think he deserved it.

 

[shaqattaq32]

I liked that there was music playing in Abby's car, it seems such an odd thing to do during a very crucial moment in someone's life.
But since this must have been a very conscious decision I guess it helped to mix the dialogue with the moments of silence. Not that the scene wouldn't work without the music, it's just another Knotsy example of making things as good as possible.
(and that's why we can't have the DVDs, damn you Abby)

You mean because of music rights? If I’m not mistaken, weren’t those country songs (“This Time We’ll Do Things My Way” and “You’re So Young”) composed specifically for Knots Landing?

I think we can’t have Knots on DVD because there’s not enough demand for it, sad as that is.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

Thank you. I hadn’t seen this. Of course he picks the damn Pollyanna speech for Karen, but oh well. Am I the only one who hates it?

I admit that her closing line "I LIKED BEING A POLLYANNA! I WANT TO BE A POLLYANNA!" has always caused me to laugh. So much so that when I downloaded a public domain copy of the 1920 Mary Pickford film Pollyanna to my tablet a while back, I saved it under that file name just for the laugh value. As it stands, one can understand the rest of her speech in the context of what she just went through and the worries about crime in the early 90s, but its a bit melodramatic.

 

[shaqattaq32]

3. Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)

Television has really changed in the streaming era. Serial dramas are almost entirely plot driven, and move at lightning speed — you’d never see a scene like Valene giving Lilimae a vibrant and glossy home perm (of course, if they made it today, it would be Eric and Michael getting home perms.) Scenes that don’t move the plot forward just don’t happen on modern dramas.

Of course, I wasn’t raised on that type of television. I’ve watched a few series of this type and mildly enjoyed them, but it’s like Chinese food. You’re hungry again immediately after.

Anyway, most seasons of Knots Landing probably wouldn’t be enjoyable for someone actually raised on the streaming-era of dramas. But you know what season I think would be *perfect* for the steaming era? Season 5. It really does exactly what modern streaming dramas do in that it has a season-long plot that pulls in all the characters (of course, Knots does it so much better than any modern streaming drama could. And they sustain it for 25 episodes whereas a 21st century drama does it for about 13, if you’re lucky.)

I watched the season 5 finale today and it really is such a fine hour of television. You can feel the energy in every scene - every single scene something important to the plot happens, and yet, it never feels like we’re sacrificing character. Every single character gets something to do that advances the plot while also staying true to character.

Theres more I want to say about the episode but maybe I should save it if I decide to do a finale ranking.

Anyway, the whole season has been building to this episode, and the finale doesn’t disappoint us and make us feel like our commitment was in vain. The finale scene is quite brilliant as the episode builds to it, getting each character to the hotel like carefully placed dominoes. And then the Knots producers have a blast knocking all of those dominoes down.

It’s really an action packed sequence, and there is so much going on, but it all makes perfect sense. This must have been an even more difficult scene to execute than the season 6 finale. But it’s a great action sequence - a gun shot, an arrest of another attempted assassin, Gary “rescuing” Val, only to (again) chuck her aside for Abby. And it all ends with Mack telling Karen “I got them”…. Yes, Mack, but at what cost? At what cost?

When I was watching Knots the first time, season 5 was the first season where I was totally addicted and finally understanding why this show had such an amazing reputation. And this finale definitely had me wanting more.

12. Season 11 (Karen's stalker is revealed)
11. Season 10 (Paige in the rain, does she choose Greg or Ted?)
10. Season 7 (Karen is revealed locked in a basement by a male kidnapper)
9. Season 2 (Sid goes over a cliff)
8. Season 8 (There's a crack in the cement where Abby just buried Peter)
7. Season 12 (Karen takes a joyride)
6. Season 13 (Pierce is alive and appears behind Paige in her car)
5. Season 9 (Valene is passed out on the floor)
4. Season 6 ("Harry, go, they wanna take the babies!")
3. Season 5 (Karen is shot, Abby is kidnapped)

Cliffhangers remaining to be ranked:

Season 3 (Valene leaves Gary and the cul-de-sac)
Season 4 (Diana has left with Chip/Gary is in jail for Ciji's murder)