Let's talk about Linda Evans' acting

[DF414]

When she left the show in 1988, Hunley became the first actor to "out" the show for its rigidly maintained static acting policy (which was painfully obvious and had been for six years). The irony being that that policy had been allowed to lapse a bit during Season 8 and was removed entirely by Paulsen for Season 9 (although Linda, God bless her, had slipped too much/too long into "automatic" to quite ever relax again -- although it wasn't on display in her other projects away from DYNASTY).

Sometimes I wonder how much better and more effective Krystle's scene, the one where she learns from Sable that the body in the lake was actually Roger Grimes, would have been had Linda played it the way she would have back in Seasons 1 or 2. But long-before by Season 9, the knob on Linda's semi-shlocky "devastated" default reaction setting was too rusty.

Question - was Hunley left go or did she leave of her own volition? It was weird that they never picked up Adam's child storyline for the rest of season 9.

Forgive my ignorance, what do you mean by "static acting"? In that they always look shocked?

Going back to the subject matter, not sure if I stated this before, but I actually think Evans did a great job in 7B. Granted it was the worst part of the show, but I thought she acted the hell out of it.

To me, Joan Collins was the best on the show, followed by John Forsythe. Pamela Bellwood and Gordon Thompson are up there too.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Question - was Hunley left go or did she leave of her own volition? It was weird that they never picked up Adam's child storyline for the rest of season 9.

Forgive my ignorance, what do you mean by "static acting"? In that they always look shocked?

Going back to the subject matter, not sure if I stated this before, but I actually think Evans did a great job in 7B. Granted it was the worst part of the show, but I thought she acted the hell out of it.

To me, Joan Collins was the best on the show, followed by John Forsythe. Pamela Bellwood and Gordon Thompson are up there too.

S.A.D. kicked in sometime at the start of Season 3 (in fact, you can detect the difference in the very first episode of the third season). It gave everybody that lobotomy quality that the actors took on and, to my mind, may have become the single most destructive creative flaw the show ever adopted, giving off a mildly dumbish vibe even to scenes which were competently written.

It's less obvious to me today, because I've had many centuries to adjust to it.

I believe Hunley left of her own volition, and the acting constrictions were apparently a big part of it.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The possibility that Linda was told to act that way is a real one, given that she didn't act that way in other projects. Even Linda herself said that when she was preparing to do the 1991 REUNION she went back and looked at some of the old episodes, seemingly perplexed, asked herself, "that's how I did it?" and then, chipper, resigned to the idea that, "well, I guess that's how I'll do it!"

I mean, what the hell did that mean??

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

The possibility that Linda was told to act that way is a real one, given that she didn't act that way in other projects. Even Linda herself said that when she was preparing to do the 1991 REUNION she went back and looked at some of the old episodes, seemingly perplexed, asked herself, "that's how I did it?" and then, chipper, resigned to the idea that, "well, I guess that's how I'll do it!"

I mean, what the hell did that mean??

Maybe the character was lobotomised.

That would explain why Linda played the character a certain way.

Of course it was probably the Producer's who told her what way to play it.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's hard to imagine Linda later handling this scene as well as she does here...

She plays the scene perfectly (despite the seasick-inducing visuals) long before the neurotic, frozen, frenetically-shrugging, glassy-eyed, infantalized Krystle kicked in.

This one, too.

 

[GillesDenver]

Despite being rather long, that scene was reduced by the editor.
First, there was a very cold exchange between Joseph and Cecil revealing that those two did not like very well.
Secondly, Krystle asked Cecil a question about the ex Mrs. Carrington but Cecil did not really answered, except for admitting that he help her packing when she left Blake (so there was no banishment in the early development). That part of the dialogue was cut just after Cecil sit on the couch.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Despite being rather long, that scene was reduced by the editor.
First, there was a very cold exchange between Joseph and Cecil revealing that those two did not like very well.
Secondly, Krystle asked Cecil a question about the ex Mrs. Carrington but Cecil did not really answered, except for admitting that he help her packing when she left Blake (so there was no banishment in the early development). That part of the dialogue was cut just after Cecil sit on the couch.

Fascinating! It's a shame they cut it down.

 

[GillesDenver]

There are a lot of interesting scenes that were cut out, especially in the early years. That would be a dream to have them, even in a very low quality.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Or this -- why didn't they ever let Krystle do this sort of thing again??

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Site member Gabriel Maxwell once said in another thread:


"I do have to note, while watching the scenes from 2x22 and 3x01 today I could really see it. Whatever happened behind the scenes in the summer of 1982, it's there the second Krystle opens her mouth in the season opener — she sounds so stilted and fake. She's not even looking at the ranger when she talks to him.

Whereas only in 2x22, in her leisurely scenes at the ranch with Blake and later asking Toscanni, with worry in her voice, if he'd managed to find Blake — she's so natural and believable.

There were some nice touches in 3x01 — Alexis talking to Cecil through that hole was a hoot and I loved the ominous music while the wind covers Blake's lifeless body in filth — but there's an undeniable jarring shift in the overall tone."


And that pretty much sizes it up. After Season 2, Linda no longer seems to be in her body. She's no longer acting; she's re-acting. And the change is unsubtle enough that it couldn't have happened by accident.

"I've gotta get outta here -- I'm losin' my mind...!"

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

And what ever happened to this Krystle -- or this show, for that matter...?

 

[ClassyCo]

And what ever happened to this Krystle -- or this show, for that matter...?

It was all squandered.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I thought she rang the changes between Rita and Krystle really well. I love how they'd go straight from a scene of Krystle being genuinely terrified in the attic to Rita being comically out of her depth in the mansion. As gloriously mental as the whole storyline was, it really felt like you were watching two different people.

That's so weird. You've said that before, but it always strikes me as being exactly the opposite: Rita's and Krystle's moany neuroses came off as remarkably similar (which is why I want Rita in a different pixy haircut/wig, to further distinguish them). The difference didn't seem pronounced, as much as Rita just seemed like Krystle with the headache she always claimed to have.

I think it's much harder to act, or at least act interestingly, when you don't have any subtext, especially when you're delivering the kind of expositionary dialogue you mostly get in soap operas. For example, saying a line like "I'm so happy!" when you are so happy is far less interesting than saying "I'm so happy!" when you're secretly really unhappy.

That's quite true, but does it explain the increasingly vapid shriekiness? Gordon Thomson described Linda as "stultified" on the show, and God knows that was obvious, but she just seemed to leave her body after a while. (Which she didn't do elsewhere). So at least the brain gizmo explanation helped rationalize the total shift in her acting.

And shouldn't exposition really be easier to deliver??

 

[GillesDenver]

And what ever happened to this Krystle -- or this show, for that matter...?

That scene was edited out between 0:47 and 0:48. A part of it was missing.


Also, the end of the episode was supposed to be in court with the judge about to give his verdict.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Linda is admittedly funny here as Rita -- funnier than Rita usually was... And because she could be "looser" as Rita (the static acting directive wasn't applied to Rita, I guess) in some ways Krystle had become even less convincing than her double!

 

[Jimmy Todd]

Linda is admittedly funny here as Rita -- funnier than Rita usually was... And because she could be "looser" as Rita (the static acting directive wasn't applied to Rita, I guess) in some ways Krystle had become even less convincing than her double!

A fun twist could have been if Rita's stay had been a bit shorter, since Krystle was in that attic way too long, Rita's plan is aborted, she flees and SJ leaves the attic unlocked so Krystle can escape but is unaware of Sammy Jo's involvement. Krystle returns to Blake and the family who cautiously believe her, but Blake has suspicions she is not the real Krystle. The family finds they actually liked Rita/Krystle better. LB could have even bonded more with her and is distant around real Krystle. This, along with some venomous prodding by Alexis and Adam, could push Krystle onto a path of self-doubt and epiphanies regarding her life.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

A fun twist could have been if Rita's stay had been a bit shorter, since Krystle was in that attic way too long, Rita's plan is aborted, she flees and SJ leaves the attic unlocked so Krystle can escape but is unaware of Sammy Jo's involvement. Krystle returns to Blake and the family who cautiously believe her, but Blake has suspicions she is not the real Krystle. The family finds they actually liked Rita/Krystle better. LB could have even bonded more with her and is distant around real Krystle. This, along with some venomous prodding by Alexis and Adam, could push Krystle onto a path of self-doubt and epiphanies regarding her life.

And, of course, I want -- after the Rita story has ended -- for Alexis to employ Joanna Cassidy (in a blonde pageboy wig) as a Krystle lookalike to make public appearances as Mrs. Carrington and do outrageous things, not only to further impugn Krystle's reputation, but also to prompt a "but that's another double" response from Mount Carrington in order to paint Krystle as pathological liar who claims that "everyone" is impersonating her.

Think of the fun. That's really a lot more fun than the Rita thing!

Which one has the Scorpio Rising...?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

While I was offline (for 10 weeks, like Krystle in the attic!) I took the opportunity to binge watch Seasons 5 and 6. For all the flaws of early-Season 6, it does seem to be going someplace. While Season 5 just wanders around in a glitzy haze.

Silly as it was, Linda is actually better as Rita because it allows her to be snarky and edgy in a way Krystle no longer was.

 

[Patrice]

Just passing through, couldn't resist...

Linda / Evans / acting? One word does not fit here...
Linda? that's ok,
Evans? that's ok too...
Oh, I got it!

And on top of it, she wears pastel colors... :tv:

Oops! I'd better go back to the Knots landing forum, don't want to risk my life staying here now I said this! It looks so serious out here
:bbb:

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Just passing through, couldn't resist...

Linda / Evans / acting? One word does not fit here...
Linda? that's ok,
Evans? that's ok too...
Oh, I got it!

And on top of it, she wears pastel colors... :tv:

Oops! I'd better go back to the Knots landing forum, don't want to risk my life staying here now I said this! It looks so serious out here
:bbb:

Well, the observations in this thread are a wee bit more nuanced than your contribution. But thanks for making it anyway.