Dynasty and I: A 23 years old watches Dynasty for the 1st time

[tommie]

I will say this: I did like the resolution to Fallon's UFO storyline. At least they sort of made it work, even if it was done for the shock-factor.

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

Well, I‘m still not sure whether I dislike these two episodes or just accept it as Dynasty being Dynasty. I will probably turn out to be latter one.
I get why regular viewers abandoned the show while it was on air because of these “stunts”. But I’m too attached to the characters after so many seasons and will accept even the most ridiculous plots.

 

[colbyco]

I wish they had forgot Fallon´s ufo "accident" ...

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

I am done with S8 and there are a few overall impressions: Despite the ridiculous story with Matthew Blaisdel at the beginning, S8 is a fine season according to my judgement. Feels a bit like S6 little sibling

• compared to S7, S8 feels a lot lighter and more structured than it’s inconclusive predecessor
• we finally got a outside footages: Cafés, Dex&Fallon at the gym, the mountains scenes are back, Candidate Blake talked in front of different audience and sceneries, Beaches. Dynasty hasn’t seen the quantity of different location since S1. This really contributed to my impression that S8 feels lighter and “more real”
• Jeff finally got more edges and interesting stories compared to previous seasons: SJ&Jeff is a pairing that I never thought would work, but it did. He’s also turns into Steven’s little nemesis when he buys DC Shares. No more just Mr. Nice Guy.... finally!
• Steven turns into Blake Jr. He’s know the same person he never wanted to be (S1 Steven says hello). I would have left the part with Steven becoming the owner of the basketball out. I would have preferred if they had shown how he emotionally cracks under the pressure. In addition: give him a boyfriend. This would have make the perfect contrast: pretending tough manager at DC vs. longing for a strong shoulder
• Dana & Adam’s surrogacy story is solid. Dana was really a great addition to the show.
• Alexis is finally “back” after S7B! She’s finally present again and back to her old self after becoming Mother Theresa of Denver
• The political campaign idea was solid. I wished it would have been a bit more “dirty” since politics is really an area where you could wrestle with mud. Perfect surrounding for two old rivals like Blake&Alexis. They should have done more instead of only accusing Blake for visiting a bordello. Krystle diggin in Alexis‘s past was a good idea with an open end unfortunately
• it’s funny that they never even mention Amanda once during the season. I noticed it when Alexis talked with the PR Guru and she mentions only the three Fallon, Adam and Steven when they talk about the children. She was the forgotten daughter and remains the forgotten daughter
• Same could be said about Krystina. She was the center of S7B but wasn’t in any of the S8 episodes. Even LB and Danny appeared regularly. You wouldn’t even notice that Blake & Krystle are parents. She should have been at least in some scenes playing in the background or being with Blake on the campaign trial for few short public appearances.
• Leslie undergoes the Carrington/Colby treatment and turning into Alexis 2.0. The same development that happend to Claudia.
• Now to Mr. Rowan. He’s the multipurpose villain of S8. I think they really inflated his scope of this character. Trying to take down the Carringtons & Colbys with business deals and trying to destroy them psychologically. He only should have been the estranged son of Joseph who wants revenge while a different villain tries to bring them down. At least we got a more or less existing and coherent plot with him
• I haven’t seen The Colbys yet so his is the first time that I saw Emma Samms Version of Fallon. While she certainly isn’t the Fallon we know and loved in S1&2, I could at least see glimpse of the sassy Fallon. Even PSMs Fallon was a bit more tamed during S4
• They forgot Dominique: WHY!?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I've just completed a rewatch binge of S1 and S2, but can't bring myself to start Season 3. Season 1 is moody and reasonably intelligent, while Season 2 is energetic and flows well and is deceptively well-structured.

But that crashes to a screeching with the first episode of Season 3. And, for me, doesn't get back on track for six years.

Site member Gabriel Maxwell describes it effectively when he said:

"Sky Crest dude ranch, in its brief appearance in the second season finale, appears to me as a vastly more interesting property than the Delta Rho farm introduced in season five. (...) Season 2 production values successfully depict the ranch as a sprawling, breathtaking property brimming with activity — abundant extras playing the mountain resort staff and the guests, long stables with horses, cottages and even a busy swimming pool in Krystle's background.

Sadly, season 3 places Krystle into a Ranger's HQ cottage for her sedate opening scene and later in what might or might not be her own cottage at Sky Crest. But, Sky Crest as we had seen it in 2x22 is nowhere to be seen again. I wish we had actually seen Blake and Krystle enjoying a cup of that hot buttered rum he was talking about in an impressive hotel lounge with high windows and a crackling fireplace, right after their ordeal.

By the way, I noticed there is also a River Stone trail crossing the Scorpio Peek trail that Blake ended up on. Such details only add to the realism of it.

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.

Maybe there's a metaphor in there. Scorpio Peak's attempted murder of the show that resulted in severe crippling instead."


And that's pretty much it. So instead of delving into new suffocations of Season 3, perhaps I'll go re-watch the first three seasons of sister-soap FALCON CREST (which I usually do every March but was unable to this year due to personal issues).

 

[GillesDenver]

I am done with S8 and there are a few overall impressions: Despite the ridiculous story with Matthew Blaisdel at the beginning, S8 is a fine season according to my judgement. Feels a bit like S6 little sibling

More than any other seasons of "Dynasty", season 8 is all about potential : the vendetta over Blake AND Alexis, a dark Steven, Krystle finally going after Alexis, Fallon trying to find herself (or her old self)... Unfortunately, it never goes beyond that potential.

 

[Alexis]

Also in a recent video with Pamela Bellwood which was shared on this forum, Pamela says she was supposed to have lots of bitchy - and physical fights - with Heather Locklear in Season 6. But because of her pregnancy, the physical scenes were scrapped. So the producers probably weren't pleased with the rewrites. It would have been fun too to see Claudia and Sammy Jo bitch slapping each other again. Though I'd prefer if they kept Luke and it was he who fought with Sammy Jo, at least verbally.

I mean when did two women fight on Dynasty and wasn't really two stunt women, or more likely two stunt men? That seems... Iffy.

 

[Alexis]

Was Catherine Oxenberg really a fan favorite or is this just wishful thinking by some of her few loyal fans? Amanda was part of the unpopular Moldavia storyline and even in pre-internet days everybody knew about and witnessed her bad acting. After Dynasty Oxenberg did some tv movies like any other soap actor would, but it's not like Hollywood was waiting for this so-called fan favorite. I think replacing Krystle, Dominique or Sammy Jo with another actress in season 7 would have been a much bigger shock for fans than this Amanda recast.

I think she was in a way. There are actors in shows that aren't brilliant or even great but yet somehow they just embody that character they are playing so perfectly. They may never go on to become the greatest star but they were just perfectly cast and were good enough for what was required of them. I think Oxenberg fits with that. She was perfectly cast as a sulky little brat who becomes a fairy tale princess, however briefly.
I also think she was becoming a better actress on the show just as they got rid of her. Soaps and TV dramas are littered with actors who are not exactly stellar but who just become really likeable to the viewer. Sometimes even not being a great actor can make them somehow appealing. It's strange.

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

I’ve finished Season 9 yesterday and the first part of “The Reunion“ today. Here are a few of my observations regarding S9.
P.S: Writing this gives me a break from slamming my head violently against wall after watching the travesty that “The Reunion“ is.

• Overall S9 had a structure when it comes to the script. The way the stories are constructed and interwoven is clearly different in comparison to the different season.
• The tone kinda feels different compared to the previous seasons. It’s darker and more melancholic. It felt a lot closer to S1 compared to the peak Dynasty years S3-S6. Howevee I still prefer the tone and style of S2-S6.
• Stefanie Beecham as Sable Colby: Just divine! I wished they had already brought her in for S8.She was simply magnificent.
• The exit of Krystle was really beautiful. The wedding ceremony with all the characters and the following exit was my personal highlight of S9. It still wished Linda Evans stayed on and they Would have given us a Happy end after all this tumultuous seasons.
• Fallon is back and I loved it! ES played the sassy and quick-witted Fallon just as PSM did during S1&S2. Why she hasn‘t been like this in S8 is a mystery to me. Fallon in S9 was definitely a welcome change.
• I didn’t liked that Alexis was missing in 1/3 of the season. She was mainly the Nr. 1 reason why I started to watch Dynasty and is still my favorite character.
• They finally gave Dex a storyline with Virginia and Sable. The prostitution storyline was a bit off for my taste. . I think it didn’t fit Dex very well and the fact that it was Virginia (Krystal’s cousin!) who was the prostitute seems a bit far fetched. Glad she went home in the middle of season. However I didn’t really mind her when she was just playing the concerned cousin
• The Roger Grimes arch was really well written and the end wasn’t a forgone conclusion before the story started to take off. The ending was certainly surprising.
• The nazi treasure idea might be structurally well written but I don’t like the entire idea at all. It comes across as a desperate attempt for shocks and attention when you introduce a nazi storyline in a tv series that had absolutely no connection to this topic at all. Even the gubernatorial race in S8 made more sense but it just wasn’t existing. I would have preferred a business plot instead
• Adam was but very one-dimensional this season. He was more nuanced during the previous seasons. But I still enjoyed Gordon Thomsons portrayal of Adam.
• S9 didn’t explained where Steven went. It was only mentioned that he was gone.
• Just as in S8: no Dominique!

Now to the cliffhanger:
• Does anyone know when ABC decided to cancel Dynasty? I think it is very likely that Paulsen wouldn’t have included a cliffhanger If he had know that Dynasty is going to be cancelled after S9 when he took over. The cliffhanger seems to me as if they had S10 in mind.
•Regarding a possible S10: I have only read that Joan and Michael Nader wanted to leave after S10 and Dominique was meant to return. Does anyone has maybe more informations or speculations about S10? Who intended to leave the show? Leaked or speculated ideas for the plot?

I’m now going back to slam my head against the wall to forget “The Reunion“

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Does anyone know when ABC decided to cancel Dynasty? I think it is very likely that Paulsen wouldn’t have included a cliffhanger If he had know that Dynasty is going to be cancelled after S9 when he took over. The cliffhanger seems to me as if they had S10 in mind.

Yes, ABC didn't cancel the show until after the cliffhanger had been filmed. There was apparently some talk at the network about renewing DYNASTY for a tenth season and moving the series back to its usual timeslot (probably given the upturn in the writing despite still low ratings) but Joan did a TVGUIDE cover article where she announced she was leaving DYNASTY (although the fine print said she'd do some episodes for them in S10) and so ABC, figuring they couldn't do the program without Alexis, pulled the plug.

The producers went to ABC to ask for another hour with which to more appropriately wrap up the show, but the executives gave them the good-money-after-bad excuse and said "no". Blame Robert Iger.

It's a shame, as a second year with Paulsen is so promising. But I prefer Alexis in mid-air and Blake bleeding on the mansion staircase to the mess of The Reunion 2 1/2 years later, run by the usual knuckleheads.

Anyway, I don't mind the nazi treasure plotline, as I see it "fitting" DYNASTY just as it did its sister-soap FALCON CREST four years earlier. I agree that Virginia was acceptable initially before she became teen hooker extraordinaire but Paulsen, for all his structural skills, loves his prostitutes. And while Alexis was only there for 13 out of 22 episodes, she was nonetheless better used than she had been in ages.

In November 1988, USATODAY called the first episode of S9 the "most exciting" in years, and the following June, TVGUIDE cited the Roger Grimes mystery as the best soap plot of the year. So there was an awareness of the improvement in the writing, even though Esther is loathe to admit it, despite her becoming good buddies with Paulsen later. At the time, La Shapiro said "the show was taken away from us" for Season 9, when in fact she'd been pursuing Paulsen for several seasons to join the series (he was offered a lowly writer-producer spot for S6 but turned it down as it offered no control over his own plotting, so he went over to be a supervising producer at KNOTS for a year, the results being up for debate, before he went back to DALLAS).

It's worth pointing out that between 1985 and 1987, DYNASTY had one of the fasted two-year crashes in the ratings for a former #1 show in history, Long before Paulsen was on the scene. So he walked into a creative morass which he had to fix despite the show being pushed into a dead-end timeslot designed to kill it by a network who'd hated the series for years.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The tone kinda feels different compared to the previous seasons. It’s darker and more melancholic

Absolutely. Especially knowing that it's going to end.

The prostitution storyline was a bit off for my taste. . I think it didn’t fit Dex very well

Which is why it did fit Dex very well. I love Dirty Dex.

and the fact that it was Virginia (Krystal’s cousin!) who was the prostitute seems a bit far fetched

There's the whore...and there's the slut.

The nazi treasure idea might be structurally well written but I don’t like the entire idea at all.

I liked it better than the one in Falcon Crest, and at least it justified the retcon of Tom Carrington, something I didn't feel in season 6.

Adam was but very one-dimensional this season.

He and Blake had some of the best scenes.

Just as in S8: no Dominique!

How many years should it take for them to realize that she was a completely useless character?

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

Yes, ABC didn't cancel the show until after the cliffhanger had been filmed. There was apparently some talk at the network about renewing DYNASTY for a tenth season and moving the series back to its usual timeslot (probably given the upturn in the writing despite still low ratings) but Joan did a TVGUIDE cover article where she announced she was leaving DYNASTY (although the fine print said she'd do some episodes for them in S10) and so ABC, figuring they couldn't do the program without Alexis, pulled the plug.

The producers went to ABC to ask for another hour with which to more appropriately wrap up the show, but the executives gave them the good-money-after-bad excuse and said "no". Blame Robert Iger.

It's a shame, as a second year with Paulsen is so promising. But I prefer Alexis in mid-air and Blake bleeding on the mansion staircase to the mess of The Reunion 2 1/2 years later, run by the usual knuckleheads.

Thank you for clarifying it and thank you for all the information after S9 ended. I really appreciate it!

However I still didn’t get that they brought in Paulsen for S9 and cancelling it right after. The old guard did it a good job of butchering the plot so why don’t stay with them if ABC wanted to get rid of the show?

And I wholeheartedly agree with you with S10/The Reunion. The best for me would be a short S10 (~15 episode) to wrap everything up or NOTHING.
Whoever was the responsible for the “The Reunion” ... it’s a disaster on an epic scale. Nothing works! The plot is
stupid af... the fashion-consortium-conspiracy-Krystle-reprogrammed-nonsense. And all the details are wrong. The mansion is gone, ColbyEnterprises instead of ColbyCo, No Gordon Thomson, forgetting old plots and repeating them (Fallons&Jeff are already divorced). The only good thing was to see Al Corley.
I just can’t get my head around!

You’re right! I would have preferred to S9 cliffhanger as the final end instead of everything that followed afterwards. “The Reunion“ even made me appreciate S7.

“How low can you go?”
Dynasty writers: “Hold my Reunion”

How many years should it take for them to realize that she was a completely useless character?

So was useless due to the writing. But she definitely had a lot of potential and was well-liked by the fans.
I still prefer “useless Dominique” over “used Kirby” in S3-4

 

[Willie Oleson]

But she definitely had a lot of potential

Since 1984.

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

Since 1984

Well, Fallon was mostly useless between S4 to S8. And all of a sudden she’s useful again in S9. It‘s all up to the writing

 

[Willie Oleson]

But Fallon Season 1 didn't have potential, she was great from the very beginning.
Considering the very different dynamics in THE COLBYS I think the new Fallon looks more suitable in the spin-off setting. I'm not saying that she was a very entertaining character, but I liked the effect she had on Jeff and Miles.

Most characters suffered from a dip at some point in the series (especially Krystle) but Dominique never reached a great height to fall from - and that "first black bitch" promotion made it even more jarring.
Of course there was potential, but eventually it has to pay off.
I don't hate the character, not at all, and she has her funny moments because she's always so terribly serious about everything.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

However I still didn’t get that they brought in Paulsen for S9 and cancelling it right after. The old guard did it a good job of butchering the plot so why don’t stay with them if ABC wanted to get rid of the show?

As soon as I heard they were bringing in "a DALLAS head honcho" to take over DYNASTY in Spring of1988, I too wondered "why bother now?" and assumed it was to dump blame onto the new guy for the series' imminent demise, its spiral had been so spectacular. (Paulsen didn't think he'd been used in that fashion, but the he wouldn't have been privy to those conversations if they even happened out loud, so finger-pointing TPTB were around DYNASTY... And in fact they did try to blame him as anticipated). Esther, infamously disingenuous, claimed that ABC wanted to get the original team back to re-take the show, despite the fact that the network despised DYNASTY for the last half of its run (and for the reasons we bitch about here, mostly myself).

 

[Willie Oleson]

Somehow I always imaginary recast the real Esther with Margo Martindale. It just makes more sense that way.

 

[The2ndLostSonOfAlexis]

As soon as I heard they were bringing in "a DALLAS head honcho" to take over DYNASTY in Spring of1988, I too wondered "why bother now?" and assumed it was to dump blame onto the new guy for the series' imminent demise, its spiral had been so spectacular. (Paulsen didn't think he'd been used in that fashion, but the he wouldn't have been privy to those conversations if they even happened out loud, so finger-pointing TPTB were around DYNASTY... And in fact they did try to blame him as anticipated). Esther, infamously disingenuous, claimed that ABC wanted to get the original team back to re-take the show, despite the fact that the network despised DYNASTY for the last half of its run (and for the reasons we bitch about here, mostly myself).

If I remember correctly, Esther wanted Paulson for S6 but when Paulson finally came over to save Dynasty she said “the show was taken away from them“? But didn’t the Shapiros stopped to care about Dynasty some time before Paulson came in?

The sad truth about Dynasty is that it had absolute killer potential with the cast and the characters. But it was mostly run by idiots that didn’t know what to do with show most of the time. It could easily have stayed on air as long as Dallas into the early 90s if the show didn’t burned so many bridges with huge parts of the audience.

I wish someone would write a Behind-the-scenes book about Dynasty. The stories between the producers, writers, Shapiros, Pollocks and the network are even more interesting than some of plots of Dynasty.

I assume that ABC wanted to get rid of Dynasty because it turned into a Rating-Titanic, dropping form 1st (84-85) to the low 40ties (87-88)?

 

[Tony]

If I remember correctly, Esther wanted Paulson for S6 but when Paulson finally came over to save Dynasty she said “the show was taken away from them“? But didn’t the Shapiros stopped to care about Dynasty some time before Paulson came in?

The sad truth about Dynasty is that it absolute killer potential with the cast and the characters. But it was mostly run by idiots that didn’t know what to do with show most of the time. It could easily have stayed on air as long as Dallas into the early 90s if the show didn’t burned so many bridges with huge parts of the audience.

I wish someone would write a Behind-the-scenes book about Dynasty. The stories between the producers, writers, Shapiros, Pollocks and the network are even more interesting than some of plots of Dynasty.

I assume that ABC wanted to get rid of Dynasty because it turned into a Rating-Titanic, dropping form 1st (84-85) to the low 40ties (87-88)?

Dynasty was no longer profitable for ABC, as commercial spots dropped as the ratings declined, couple with the increased cast salaries every year of the big three John, Joan and Linda. Plus the ABC brass were resentful of Aaron Spelling and his then monopoly in the mid 80s (Aaron's Broadcasting Company). Plus changing fads from the mid 80s onwards towards more realistic television like LA LAW, Roseanne and Thirtysomething. Dynasty also didn't do well in repeats as most of the big soaps didn't, plus once it reached syndication ie 100 episodes, it wasn't as profitable to keep it on the air.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

But it wasn't just economic -- ABC actually hated the show.

DALLAS surpassed 100 episodes, went into syndication, pulled bad ratings during summer reruns, and eventually tanked during the regular season, but CBS didn't hate the show itself. In fact, Larry Hagman marveled in 1989 that CBS was "still hot" for DALLAS despite it being in 61st place.

one has to remember that DYNASTY mounted a very public "come back, we've fixed it!" PR campaign every six months beginning in Season 6, but to no avail --- there was little improvement in the show (at least until Season 9 once the audience really was gone). That makes people surly.