Watching The Colbys for the First Time

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.11: SANCTUARY

I’m back, lovelies, and it’s been a while. I hope you still care! Another really good episode. Kolya lands on some grass – of course – and maybe possibly has a broken rib but seems to be alright. He asks for sanctuary and is reunited with his love, Bliss. One small problem remains: Sister Anna is being taken by Russian He-Man straight to the airport. Jason moans about getting involved but ends up brokering a meeting halfway to the plane, so Kolya and Anna can say goodbye. Kolya and Anna running to each other and hugging was very touching. Anna insists she’s being written out of the show, therefore she must go. The really sad part is, they heavily implied Sacha is forcing her to do this, making the whole situation even sadder. Very touching finale to the story, and with great production to boot.

It’s hard not to try and imagine how DYNASTY would have handled this. Alexis would probably sashay into an office, having found some improbable way to blackmail someone, announced it, and that would have been it. One scene, the rest off-screen, no emotional resonance whatsoever.

Fallon really can’t stop being needy, can she? Now, the baby’s in danger! And then onto Miles and Channing for bad acting central, as Channing announces she wants the baby to die. Miles wants to break her face, so instead he bonks her in one of those anger-turns-into-passion things. How very Lance and Melissa of them!

Sometime later, Jeff and Miles decide to go into the village for something or another, since "Martin skied down to the village." I don’t know why, but that line made me laugh so hard. They both go, Miles leaving his wife, who clearly said she wants Fallon's baby to die, to look after Fallon and her baby. When Fallon comes screeching down the stairs, all pale and pink, Channing pretends she can’t call the doctor—devastatingly villainish! She is soon caught in the lie by Frankie. My God, you have to be pretty dumb to get caught by Frankie.

Zach blackmails Cash: Spy on Jason for me, or Monica will find out Scott is her son! Alas, Zach doesn’t get to have fun with that for much longer: Cash decides he must tell Monica the truth. Adrienne instantly hits the bottle, then is the one who actually almost tells Monica the truth. "Ask your lover!" she screams when she realizes the error she’s made. Monica doesn’t ask her lover: She questions Arthur, and then Connie (over the phone, begging the question: Why didn’t they just recast?). Connie tells her the truth. When Cash comes to the office, the show doesn’t disappoint: "You knew all this time, and you didn’t tell me!" Scoggins does great in the scene. She slaps the shιt out of Cash and throws him out, before collapsing on the floor crying. YAS! We’ve been long overdue for such a melodramatic ending.

DDD

 

[templariuS]

Since I am watching Dynasty, I wanted to see The Colbys as well but I am having a terrible time to get the complete series... does anyone know where I can get some torrent or seeing the episodes? I have one torrent file per season but it's stucked at 90% (S1) and 45% (S2) for A MONTH I wanted to see all in order to see if I will buy the whole DVD set :/ It's difficult for me to start seeing a series unfinished =X

 

[JROG]

Since I am watching Dynasty, I wanted to see The Colbys as well but I am having a terrible time to get the complete series... does anyone know where I can get some torrent or seeing the episodes? I have one torrent file per season but it's stucked at 90% (S1) and 45% (S2) for A MONTH I wanted to see all in order to see if I will buy the whole DVD set :/ It's difficult for me to start seeing a series unfinished =X

I bought THE COLBYS without having seen a single episode, and never regretted it. Apart from immensely enjoying the show, I think they did a great job with the packaging too (simple and straightforward but beautiful).

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.12: REACHING OUT

The standout stuff in this episode was Monica telling Sable the truth about her baby. It’s always great to see Sable interact more with her kids that aren’t Miles. Also, really loved the reveal that Russian He-Man is basically holding Crying Sestra hostage after taking her mother away. I had a feeling this story wasn’t over yet.

Meanwhile, it feels like they are perhaps struggling to find Zach a place in the show. Perhaps it is because they can’t allow him to decimate Jason outright, but then what else is he to do? Constant revenge attempts without any results? He’s in a bit of a limbo (although still fun and enjoyable), so I hope they find something for him to do.

I love that Connie is still being used to generate storyline despite her exit half a season ago. When the episode starts with Jason getting a call about an unexpected withdrawal of 2 million dollars by Connie, you just know something juicy is coming. Indeed, the mystery thickens as the episode goes on. In the final moments, we learn Hutch and Connie's airplane has disappeared! This feels like the beginning of something exciting, unless they’re simply on a tropic island somewhere sipping drinks….

 

[Michael Torrance]

EPISODE 2.11: SANCTUARY
She questions Arthur, and then Connie (over the phone, begging the question: Why didn’t they just recast?).

Because then they couldn't be spiteful and give Connie more story AFTER Stanwyck quit.

I bought THE COLBYS without having seen a single episode

Is there a way to buy them other than DVD?

 

[JROG]

Because then they couldn't be spiteful and give Connie more story AFTER Stanwyck quit.

Is there a way to buy them other than DVD?

LMAO! Stanwyck quits, and now Connie's been driving story with BOTH Monica's child and this disappearance/mystery. I like that. So petty.

I don't think it's been made available through iTunes, Amazon, or something like that.

 

[Michael Torrance]

I thought there was something surprisingly barbarian about it, because she reminded me of those ruthless matriarchs from the medieval and Ancient Rome stories.

This was already apparent in season 1, when she (and Miles) couldn't care less about Fallon's mental health, or the fact that Fallon was supposed to marry the father of her child (LB) before she became Randall.
Fallon or Randall, as long as she stayed married to Miles, and to hell with the consequences.

Regarding episode 8:
This scene was utterly creepy the first time (for Sable--Miles was showing a lot more remorse and self-awareness here than Blake did on DYNASTY in season 1). But after DYNASTY's season 9, it becomes inexcusable. I know @JROG has not seen this, so I won't go into details.

As for Fallon marrying the father of her child--she was going to remarry the father of her child, after marrying him as a business arrangement with his uncle, then divorcing him; the father of a child she conceived in competition with Krystle, a child she wanted to abort when Krystle miscarried hers. Nobody on DYNASTY ever cared about Fallon's (lack of) mental health, and the one psychiatrist she was seeing was in bed. If anything, the Colbys were consistent in that.

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.13: POWER PLAYS

This episode is a great example of Sable’s central role to the show. She literally has her finger in every pie and, if not, she makes sure she does. On top of that, we are seeing some very interesting developments in her personal arc and life situation. It makes for some really fascinating viewing. If anyone ever asks for the best showcase for Sable, you need only show them this episode.

We begin with a Jason/Sable breakfast scene that sets up this episode’s main event: Jason being awarded the title of ‘Man of the Year’. Most COLBYS episodes revolve around an event (a party, a meeting) that acts like a catalyst to the plot. All these commitments and social events really establish the Colbys as a rich, socially important family.

Jason, huge ass that he is, is taking Frankie with him, once again igniting Sable’s ire. (Sable mentions L.B. is upstairs in the hallway playing with marbles, a detail that feels like an important point masquerading itself as a casual comment. And there’s a pregnant woman that needs to have a dramatic birth at some point. Uh Oh…). Sable confronts Frankie, who attempts sarcasm: "I’m sure the hotel is heated." What a bitch. It then gets worse: Frankie is mistaken for Mrs. Colby. I love how the writers straddle the fence with Jason here: He does correct the reporter by telling him Frankie is not Mrs. Colby, but then adds, "yet." So he can both be blamed and accused for his behavior. Brilliant.

Watching Sable ensnare Adrianne is highly amusing. Adrianne, already suspicious of Sable’s sudden lunch invite, quickly figures out that Sable knows about Scott. "You want me to sell you my son over dessert?" It’s a really exceptional scene. I’m really happy Adrianne doesn’t seem to have lost her mind yet but her proclaiming that she and Monica will both die before Scott is turned over to the Colbys makes me fear the writers will take the easy way out. Monica confronts Sable over her interference: "Stay the hell outta my life!" Monica screams at her mother. It’s perhaps the only time so far that Monica has been really cool. Before you know it, Monica is sucking face with Cash on that fancy patio/balcony.

Next on Sable’s agenda is dealing with Bliss’ Russian loverboy (who continues to make hilarious faces when he ‘dances’). Kolya has been looking for a dance partner and in comes Sable with a beautiful woman that Kolya just happens to know that just happens to be perfect. Sable is thrilled that it’s working out and completely misses how jealous Bliss is… or does she? You know, it seems highly suspect that it wouldn’t at least occur to Sable that bringing the sexy Georgina into Kolya's life could be a problem….

Fallon confronts Channing about desiring her baby to die. "How dare you!" Channing protests unconvincingly. Like a ghost from Christmas carol, lawyer Sam hovers around Channing and does things like call Channing's lie about being barren 'Planned Parenthood Program.' He’s hilarious. Channing still wants nothing to do with Lucas. Meanwhile, Jason is shocked! and furious! and indignant! that a tabloid published the fact that he secretly met with the soviets. Turns out, the tabloid is one of Lucas Carter’s publications. Through this all, something has been happening: Lucas Carter has been emerging as a potentially major threat against the Colbys, the basis subtly laid. It’s very smart of the writers.

Zach has decided that it’s time to give Sable what she needs: Power. He points out that, thanks to wet blanket Frankie, she no longer has power over Jason in bed. But, in the boardroom… Sable can finally begin to exert some influence. Excitingly, we get a big board meeting and it’s what a soap board meeting should be: Real stakes, twists, decisions that can change the course of the show. Indeed, Sable votes to use Onishy for the 'I.M.O.S.' project, a company whose stock Jason had to divest. Sable hilariously announces she bought those shares and now she, Jason, and Zach are all co-owners. "You’re a child!" Jason tells Sable, once again proving he’s an ass. Only a rich, white man would fυck his mistress, his wife’s sister, under the same roof and have the nerve to call someone else a child.

While all this juicy stuff is going on in Los Angeles, Miles and Jeff are in New Delhi and then Katmandu, trying to locate Connie. She met with a man named Hoyt Parker and has since disappeared again. It’s not long before Jeff calls Jason (who is in the middle of arguing with Zach and Sable at the restaurant) and tells him… Connie is dead! This, too, turns out to be about Sable to a degree: She looks at Jason with enormous sadness and sympathy. It’s at this moment you know she’d take him back if he ever asked her to and one has the feeling that, if she’d gotten word of Connie's death before the board meeting, she would have backed out. Fascinating.

PS. Paging Dominique! Is she still alive? Oh, wait, I guess nobody needs money right now.

PS 2: Not enough shirtless Miles!

 

[Zable]

...the one psychiatrist she (Fallon) was seeing was in bed. If anything, the Colbys were consistent in that.

Oh, bosh.

 

[Zable]

But after DYNASTY's season 9, it becomes inexcusable.

Bosh-tosh.

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.14: THE LEGACY

Jeff and Miles return home with news of Connie and Hutch’s deaths. It looks like their plane exploded before crashing. The news sets off a number of fascinating reactions for the entire family (except Bliss, who is empty, hollow, and, as always, unconnected to everything) and allows the show to somewhat reset the dynamics between characters who had reached an impasse (like Jason and Sable and Sable and Monica).

Jason's first reaction is to push Frankie away. Oh, I enjoyed that. "I lit the fire for you," is Frankie's way of comforting Jason regarding his sister’s murder. Throughout the episode, Frankie, keenly aware of being shut out thanks to Sable pointing it out and rubbing it in her face, tries to reach out to Jason and keeps getting rejected until she finally breaks him down and convinces him to run off to the family’s ranch in Eureka, California. Brilliant strategy, Frankie.

Fallon and Jeff get their moment to mourn Connie as well. It doesn’t feel as strong or as real as the rest of it, but at least the infamous plate returns! I’m sure we all missed it. With everything going on, Channing still makes sure she tells Miles that she tried to be friendly with Fallon but was shot down.

Unsurprisingly, Sable’s reaction is the most compelling. Her standing by the French doors, ‘talking’ to Connie was strangely touching. It’s not long before she expertly uses Connie's death to make inroads with Jason. She gets farther than she ever has and thus comes crashing down when she learns Jason is going away with Frankie. She runs straight to Zach (there’s a hilarious moment where she imitates how he speaks) and tells him she’s lost it all. I’m not sure exactly what happened with Onishy and how Jason went with another company, since the board voted to stay with Onishy. There seems to be a dis-connect here. In any case, Zach half-touchingly, half-creepingly (what else is new?) assures her she’ll never lose him. What a great duo these two are.

Following Connie's funeral in what looks like Gary's ranch from Knots Landing, Sable and Monica find a way to mend their fences as well and discuss their want to have Scott in their lives. Adrienne decides this is the best time to try to seduce Cash, who rewards her with a demand that she set him free. Adrienne begins drinking and does what every self-respecting soap diva would do – she turns her son against his biological mother. Monica has no idea what hits her when Scott comes to her office and tells her to fυck off.

The reading of Connie's will provides laughs (she gifts Sable the infamous silver bracelet) and restores Miles’ standing in the family (or, at least, how Sable and Miles perceive it) by giving him her shares in Colby Enterprises. "Thank you, Connie. I forgive you," Sable whispers in one of the episode’s best moments. The truce doesn’t last long. It briefly looks like Jeff and Miles may put their feud to the side, but in his own inimitable manner, Miles lets Jeff know that he’s going to take back everything Jeff ‘stole’ from him (it involves a baseball and Miles making a ‘different kind of ballgame’ pun with a completely straight face). Sable gets yet another slap in the face when Miles goes off on a “Connie trusted me I’ve got to work for the company” tangent, essentially telling her she cannot count on his unconditional support. Sable realizes Connie set her up for this and throws the bracelet in the fire. Amazing!

We take a brief break from all this compelling drama for, admittedly, some interesting Kolya/Georgina stuff. Bliss delivers the superb line "You can’t say ‘niet’?" and Georgina employs the usual arrange-for-someone-to-arrive-at-a-specific-time-so-they-can-see-you-kiss-their-partner scheme. Bliss is so dumb that, despite Kolya pushing Georgina away and screaming "what the hell are you doing?", she runs off angry.

Of course, Hoyt Parker arrives in Los Angeles and lays in waiting. He follows Frankie and Jason to the ranch. Seeing how disgustingly lovey-dovey they are in a field that looks like it was on DYNASTY as well, Hoyt decides to pull an Alexis and aims a riffle at them. Kill Frankie, Hoyt! Kill her!

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.15: THE HOME-WRECKER

Contrary to what you might think based on that title, this episode is not about Frankie, who unfortunately survives getting shot at by hiding behind a hugely fake rock. Hoyt runs off and throws knives at Jason's picture, but doesn’t make any other attempts.

Meanwhile, Jeff is determined to prove he’s asshole (©Alexis 2018) by going off on Fallon for daring to want to start her own interior design business while pregnant. "You want to murder this baby!" he wines.

No sooner has Kolya convinced Bliss that the kiss with Georgina was a result of her stupid, telenovela-level schemes that Bliss falls for another stupid, telenovela-level scheme. I guess now that we don’t have sexy man Sacha to contend with, this is what we’re left with for drama. Somebody needs to bitch-slap Georgina.

The really juicy stuff once again comes from Zach/Sable and the Monica story line. Zach ends up the CEO of a company Jason has to use (for one reason or another) and it’s all blabbermouth Sable’s fault. Zach responds to Sable’s concern over what Jason's feeling and thinking by putting a huge rock on her finger. In a delicious scene later on, Sable runs into Jason as he is moving back into the pool house with the home-wrecker Frankie, and shows off her ring. Jason looks quite stunned but both he and Sable are left uneasy with the exchange.

Monica warns Sable that she will never speak to her again if she tells Jason that Scott is her son, suspecting Sable simply wants to use her grandson as a pawn. Monica doesn’t count on Cash having a mind of his own, however: He leaves Adrienne, who promptly hits the bottle again, and little Scott decides to do what any soap kid in his place would do in this situation: Run away. This sends Adrienne flying to the Colby mansion, where she tells Jason – shock, gasp! – that Scott is Monica's son. That bastard gets another freezeframe.

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

This sends Adrianne flying to the Colby mansion, where she tells Jason – shock, gasp! – that Scott is Monica's son. That bastard gets another freezeframe.

I SO wish that Adrienne got that freeze instead, she deserved it SO much more!!
I kind of love this last minute of the episode, with Adrienne rushing into the Colby-Mansion, "disturbing" Frankie and Jason there with these news, it's unusual and refreshing.

 

[tommie]

More importantly - what happened to the random shirtless Miles scenes in season 2?

No wonder they got cancelled!

 

[JROG]

I SO wish that Adrienne got that freeze instead, she deserved it SO much more!!
I kind of love this last minute of the episode, with Adrienne rushing into the Colby-Mansion, "disturbing" Frankie and Jason there with these news, it's unusual and refreshing.

Quite right: It would have been nice for her to get her desperate freeze, but I guess it had to go to the person who just found out they have a grandchild. And, indeed, it was an unexpected ending and a lot of fun.

 

[JROG]

More importantly - what happened to the random shirtless Miles scenes in season 2?

No wonder they got cancelled!

Their lack is worrisome and unforgivable!

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.16: THE MANHUNT

Everyone’s trying to kill everyone else! Thrilling.

Thanks to Monica's quick thinking, Scott is found, but Scott wants nothing to do with her. As if Scott's hatred has sent Monica into a tailspin, she punishes herself by sporting a most unfortunate granny-do for the rest of the episode that ages her by several decades.

The revelation that Monica has a secret child brings on some reflection from Jason and Sable (I love that they are still able to sit down and discuss their children and any mistakes they made in raising them) and even from Miles, who touchingly is disappointed with himself that he didn’t know about his twin’s love child.

Bliss sinks to new lows when we discover she had posters of her boyfriend up on her wall. Ew! She tears them up but Kolya's "Slavic manners" (or however she puts it) clue Sable in that he’s innocent. Determined to prove she’s not useless, Bliss confronts Georgina and the show gives us the closest thing to a catfight: Georgina throws her drink at Bliss’ face and Bliss pushes her onto Kolya's birthday cake. Fun! Kolya and Bliss then make goo goo eyes at each other.

Having recently exhibited his capacity for assholeness, Jeff goes off in search of another storyline, devoting himself to figuring out the mystery of Connie's death.

Zach takes the week off.

Hoyt calls Frankie and scares the living daylights out of her. He is quickly becoming my fave. Jason increases security, but it turns out not only Hoyt is shooting at him, but Sam Erskine (that fabulously creepy lawyer of Lucas Carter’s) is also planning to have Jason shot. At a conference for 'I.M.O.S.', Erskine's man shoots Cash by mistake and, in turn, he is shot by Erskine's other man, something planted in his jacket (right there, in front of everyone). Monica wails to Cash, begging him to hold on. He takes one look at her hair and hopes to die.

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.17: ALL FALL DOWN

To my disappointment, Cash doesn’t die following his shooting (it would have opened up a nice fight between Monica and Adrienne for Scott). They did tease a paralysis, however, which would put an end to the show’s habit of ending episodes with catastrophes only to speedily undo them. Well, Cash recovers. I guess now would be the time for Adrienne to officially lose her mind.

I don’t mean to be unfair to the show – the shooting didn’t lead to any melo-dramatic ailment for Cash, but they did use it to advance several stories and dynamics: Monica and Cash profess their love for each other, Scott admits to Monica he doesn’t hate her, Jason gives Frankie an engagement ring and Zach gives Sable an ultimatum regarding an answer to his marriage proposal. It’s really all rather good. The best, of course, comes from Sable, who, in near hysterics, runs to check on Jason after she hears about the shooting only to see the giant rock on her home-wrecker sister’s finger. It leads to an excellent scene between the divorcing couple as Jason begs Sable not to marry Zach. Sable claims she is, but then asks Zach for more time, and receives her ultimatum.

Hoyt buys 60,000 Colby Enterprises shares. Jeff the hound gets on the case. I rather enjoyed Zach agreeing to meet Jeff and then having Jeff pace while he gets a haircut; such a bitch move. Jeff soon realizes Hoyt Parker is behind the buyout, thanks to his forgotten cigarettes (would one really forget cigarettes all over the world?).

Jeff gets to do a lot of manly grabbing/threatening in this episode: Zach, the broker, Fallon; no one escapes his wrath.

Channing finds L.B.’s marbles on the stairs. She doesn’t leave them there for Fallon to trip over, but instead marches over to Fallon and demands that L.B. be spanked! That’s hilarious. I really love this chick. She begs Jeff to help her keep Miles and Fallon apart, insinuating that Fallon may still want Miles. Fallon goes all whiny on our asses again. Jeff can’t take it. Dennis Turner does some great scripting here, using Fallon's past childishness and restlessness to make this current situation richer. When Jeff runs off, you understand why: He can’t sit there and beg Fallon to stay once again; she’s done it too often.

Fallon runs after Jeff. Right on cue, the marbles are on the stairs again (by L.B.? Channing?) and down she goes. Finally. In his best acting moment so far, Miles runs to Fallon's side and looks at Channing hatefully when he realizes she’s standing at the top of the stairs. "What have you done?" he asks….

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 2.18: THE GUILTY PARTY

A great, tense episode, full of wonderful character interaction. It does one of the things COLBYS does best: Uses a major event to shake people and dynamics, even if temporarily.

Fallon, being the dramatic ho that she is, goes into premature labor and her baby girl is taken to the ICU. After he’s done chasing Hoyt Parker around (there’s a funny scene where he’s pulled over and barely has time for the cop’s judgment), Jeff joins Miles at the hospital. They are both so shocked about this they keep looking at each other homoerotically. Miles tells Sable he rather die if Fallon dies. Sable also has a great one-on-one with Monica, who is reminded of her own pregnancy and delivery. Sable is happy to finally get some details about that time in her daughter’s life.

Meanwhile, Channing knows full well that everyone thinks she pushed Fallon down the stairs. She tells Miles she’s leaving him and starts packing her things but L.B. admits he left the marbles on the staircase. I like to imagine Channing spanked him into a false confession.

Zach tracks Hoyt Parker down and offers partnership in taking over Colby Enterprises. Surprisingly, Parker says he has no interest in a takeover. You can tell Zach is incredibly intrigued to find out he was wrong.

Kolya gets corrupted by America. It is pampered princess Bliss that reminds him America isn’t just about VCRs and TVs but also about freedom, baby! Yeah! She gets a call from Sable about Fallon and is considerate enough to stay away from our screen the rest of the episode.

Because two great one-on-one scenes aren’t enough, Sable has a talk with her home-wrecking sister and they agree to a temporary truce. You just know they’ll be fighting by next episode, but the emotions and complexity of the scene are real and interesting. Sable tells Zach she can’t give him an answer to his marriage proposal yet and will say no if she pushes him. Zach, perhaps because he genuinely loves Sable, gives her more time.

Fallon survives but baby middle name Constance has respiratory problems. Miles and Jeff are called to the hospital not to be told who truly is the baby’s father but that it might not matter cos she’s probs dying. Wow. The two don’t know what to say and homoerotically look at each other. Both Jeff and Miles in the same frame is almost too much to take!

 

[GillesDenver]

I really dislike that Zach lost his edge in the second season, spending several episodes waiting for Sable's answer. In the seasonal bible, he was supposed to call Dominique and make a play to her in order to make Sable jealous. It's a pity that this plan was scrapped, I think Ricardo Montalban and Diahann Carroll had some interesting chemistry in the scene they played together (beginning of season 2)...