Who would you axe? Alexis or Krystle?

[Richard Channing]

Season 3 has just ended with it's cabin fire cliffhanger. Due to budgetary reasons (or whatever) either Linda Evans or Joan Collins has to get the boot. As show runner you must decide which one is more integral to the show and it's future, and which one should get the chop. Who do you axe? And why?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Obviously, Krystle. They axed her anyway. 8 years of the same pageboy hairstyle and the same white-as-snow gown in the opening credits (which was not Linda's choice). No real storylines. And then there's S.A.D.

They'd already killed her.

So maybe they could just immortalize her in a huge library painting and talk about her reverently from Season 4 onward like they ultimately did in Season 9.


Krystle looking into the Face of Eternity -- and all she can see is Rita.

 

[Gabriel Maxwell]

I'll vote for Krystle, too, but you might as well axe the show if you're going to axe one of these two at this point in the ratings momentum. Then again, the 21st century reboot keeps axing both of them (in a manner of speaking), so maybe they're both dispensable after all. "Kill off the leading lady halfway through the series" does sound like a plot twist pretty much any current show would do nowadays for "shot in the arm" purposes (and I both love and despise that about them).

 

[Willie Oleson]

Alexis. Then return to season 1 quality.

But...to have Alexis die in some ordinary fire in some ordinary cabin...it feels a bit underwhelming.
Buried underneath the debris of the imploded mansion is more her style, I think.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

After a while, Krystle just shrugged her shoulders neurotically and bobbed her head defensively as she responded in falsetto to people, her default setting of devastation automation.

Hard to do much with that. Other than to much later explain it as a brain gizmo, thank goddess.

At least Alexis remained in the moment, while Krystle eventually left her body long before she left the show.


"Imma cut you, bitch..!"

"Wear more hats darling, it protects the brain..."

 

[Toni]

I´d axe Joseph dressed in a Joan Collins wig, a la Senator McVanity, who gets trapped inside too (a la Coyote from Roadrunner!).

 

[Willie Oleson]

Without Alexis, the other divas would stand a chance of becoming really interesting (Dominique, Caress, heck maybe even Lady Ashley!)

Oh, and Fallon would blame Krystle and become her enemy again. PSM would have liked that.

 

[Tony]

I remember a Barry Norman (UK talk show host) visit to the Dynasty set early on in season 3 filming ‘The Will’ when he interviews Joan Collins and then slights her by saying in commentary ‘of course the real star of the show is Linda Evans’.

I think that Linda was still the main female star in season 3 and by the end of the season Collins’ Alexis had become cartoonish ‘the sisterhood of beautiful women!’

and yes if Alexis had perished it would have allowed other bitches in the pack to flourish like Dominique, Caress and Sable. Going up against Krystle would have been a more interesting dynamic than the Krystle and Alexis feud which fizzled out by Season 4 anyway.

of course the producers weren’t confident that lightning would strike twice and then started to write the show around Alexis.

 

[Richard Channing]

Without Alexis, the other divas would stand a chance of becoming really interesting (Dominique, Caress, heck maybe even Lady Ashley!)

Yes, but we probably never would have had a Caress without Alexis. Although I guess she could have shown up at Alexis funeral and gone on to be kind of a replacement. Cause there's always gotta be a replacement!

 

[Richard Channing]

I would axe Krystle for a number of reasons, but mainly because Alexis, apart from being fabulous and a viewer magnet, was Blake's ex wife and the mother of his children. As such she cannot be replaced. Whereas Krystle on the other hand, apart from being Sammy Jo's aunt, could easily be replaced, as Blake could just get a new wife. And this could create a new feud with a new dynamic, instead of dragging out the Krystle/Alexis feud over 9 seasons.

 

[Willie Oleson]

was Blake's ex wife and the mother of his children. As such she cannot be replaced

Not to mention their meaty history, eventhough it was painfully underused until season 9.

as Blake could just get a new wife. And this could create a new feud with a new dynamic

Or an epic Sammy Jo vs. Alexis battle!

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I would axe Krystle for a number of reasons, but mainly because Alexis, apart from being fabulous and a viewer magnet, was Blake's ex wife and the mother of his children. As such she cannot be replaced. Whereas Krystle on the other hand, apart from being Sammy Jo's aunt, could easily be replaced, as Blake could just get a new wife. And this could create a new feud with a new dynamic, instead of dragging out the Krystle/Alexis feud over 9 seasons.

Although, as I always say, "just fix the writing!"

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yeah, I'm not sure Krystle could be easily replaced -- this kind of show needs a moral compass character, and not just one perfunctorily shoved in to the dynamic or frivolously written (although, obviously, Krystle quickly became the latter). But Linda Evanses aren't easy to come by, at least, in her early incarnation on the show.

Likewise, most "good bitch" actresses, certainly back then, were almost never as pretty as Joan Collins --- usually, they were Crawford/Bette/Dunaway style dragon ladies who were glamorous but ugly.

You don't get a Collins or an Evans very often, let alone both under the same roof. Which is one of the reasons DYNASTY had such potential. Beauteous archetypes.

We all know what happened, naturally, and the blonde, white, nice woman always suffers first and most.

 

[Richard Channing]

Yeah, I'm not sure Krystle could be easily replaced -- this kind of show needs a moral compass character, and not just one perfunctorily shoved in to the dynamic or frivolously written (although, obviously, Krystle quickly became the latter). But Linda Evanses aren't easy to come by, at least, in her early incarnation on the show.

Likewise, most "good bitch" actresses, certainly back then, were almost never as pretty as Joan Collins --- usually, they were Crawford/Bette/Dunaway style dragon ladies who were glamorous but ugly.

You don't get a Collins or an Evans very often, let alone both under the same roof. Which is one of the reasons DYNASTY had such potential. Beauteous archetypes.

We all know what happened, naturally, and the blonde, white, nice woman always suffers first and most.

Oh yes there's no doubting that Linda Evans was a rare beauty that brought something special to the role. In that sense she certainly couldn't be easily replaced. I guess what I was getting at was that from a character point of view, the show could have still thrived without Krystle. But someone equally dynamic would be needed to take on the role of Blake's new love, and as you say, they're hard to come by.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Yin must have its yang, n'cest-ce pas?

 

[Willie Oleson]

But someone equally dynamic would be needed to take on the role of Blake's new love

But then it's not a real game changer, is it?
What effect would Krystle's death have on everything? Would Blake become his evil season 1 persona again, and who's going to suffer from that, and how would that affect other things and characters?
I understand that soaps can't change too much, but the loss of Dynasty's protagonist should (at least) be meaningful (ha, how very optimistic of me).

Incidentally, I wish you had picked the Moldavia shooting for this imaginary exit

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

And in a lot of ways, I don't think they exhausted the Krystle- vs. Alexis dynamic -- if anything, they didn't go there enough. Most of the time, we were just supposed to think it was percolating in the background, but very little happened in front of the camera, and Linda and Joan had shockingly few scenes together after the first couple of years.

Remember, even little Karen Cellini said in 1987, "all anybody wants to see are Linda and Joan," while about the same time, David Jacobs, a producer who knew what to do with his actresses, bemoaned the fact that Linda and Joan no longer seemed like the stars of the show anymore.

 

[Richard Channing]

But then it's not a real game changer, is it?
What effect would Krystle's death have on everything? Would Blake become his evil season 1 persona again, and who's going to suffer from that, and how would that affect other things and characters?
I understand that soaps can't change too much, but the loss of Dynasty's protagonist should (at least) be meaningful (ha, how very optimistic of me).

Well yes ideally this would have a profound effect on Blake and he would spend at least a season in mourning or lashing out, but who are we kidding? It wouldn't take the writers long to forget about Krystle and a new love interest wouldn't be too far off.

Incidentally, I wish you had picked the Moldavia shooting for this imaginary exit

Would it have changed your choice of who goes?

 

[Richard Channing]

And in a lot of ways, I don't think they exhausted the Krystle- vs. Alexis dynamic -- if anything, they didn't go there enough. Most of the time, we were just supposed to think it was percolating in the background, but very little happened in front of the camera, and Linda and Joan had shockingly few scenes together after the first couple of years.

Remember, even little Karen Cellini said in 1987, "all anybody wants to see are Linda and Joan," while about the same time, David Jacobs, a producer who knew what to do with his actresses, bemoaned the fact that Linda and Joan no longer seemed like the stars of the show anymore.

Love that pic!!

 

[tommie]

Without Alexis, the other divas would stand a chance of becoming really interesting (Dominique, Caress, heck maybe even Lady Ashley!)

Oh, and Fallon would blame Krystle and become her enemy again. PSM would have liked that.

Yes, and this is why I think the show could've realistically survived without Alexis - I mean, how many potential evil divas did we have that ended up being stunted because no one could ever outdo Alexis? So off with her head, I say!