DYNASTY versus DALLAS versus KNOTS LANDING versus the rest of them

[Ked]

So maybe their fates are what would also happen to us if we were to dare enter the walls of Soap Land. And maybe that's why some viewers are resistant to them, cos they'd rather imagine themselves as Joan Collins or Krystle than Lindsay Blaisdel or Tommy Ortega.

I still remember the DYNASTY quiz I took that told me I'd be Dominique. I'd spend all my time in the hotel lounge, munching on gourmet chocolates and eavesdropping on all the other characters.

 

[Willie Oleson]

it's the outsiders -- Matthew and Claudia, Mickey Trotter, the Ramoses, Joshua, Ciji, Peter Hollister and Jill Bennett -- who are driven mad and/or corrupted and/or destroyed through their dealings with the main cast

Maybe that's why a character like Dynasty's Tracy Kendall never came to life, they never made it about her.
It's what she would do to Krystle, what she said to Blake and even her last moment was all about Alexis.
Gone and instantly forgotten.

As for the recurring complaint "they should give the main characters something to do !" - that's when you get Valene twelve-years-on-the-show Ewing's brain virus, or Melissa's singing career.
Always be careful what you wish for.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Tracey was almost Walter Lankershim's niece, but then scrapped the idea. Maybe this could've worked.

I like the idea of new characters having at least some tangential past connection to pre-existing roles; at least as often as possible (like a dynasty). Some fans don't like that at all.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I like the idea of new characters having at least some tangential past connection to pre-existing roles

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Dominique never became more than Blake's sister, unless you think her music career and her boring daughter and her boring ex-lover was brilliant soap drama.
But if she had been a serious adversary (after setting up her cocaine business in La Mirage in a neo-blaxploitation kind of way) and then find out in Tom's video will that she's a member of that most irritating Carrington clan....well I think the people in Denver would have something to say about that.

Father Christopher should have been the most destroyed character in prime time soap: sobbing on the church floor, naked, covered in blood, holding the lifeless body of Julia after he had stabbed her to death(ish).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Dominique never became more than Blake's sister, unless you think her music career and her boring daughter and her boring ex-lover was brilliant soap drama.
But if she had been a serious adversary (after setting up her cocaine business in La Mirage in a neo-blaxploitation kind of way) and then find out in Tom's video will that she's a member of that most irritating Carrington clan....well I think the people in Denver would have something to say about that.

Father Christopher should have been the most destroyed character in prime time soap: sobbing on the church floor, naked, covered in blood, holding the lifeless body of Julia after he had stabbed her to death(ish).

I always want Dominique to have had an acrimonious history in Europe with Caress. It would give them both something else to do, and use the reported resentment Miss Carroll had towards Kate O'Mara over her hiring and usurpation as DYNASTY's Number 2 bitch.

It just seems right.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I always want Dominique to have had an acrimonious history in Europe with Caress.

It would have been nice if the characters had been allowed to break out of their little cliques.
Instead of Sister Dearest (since their most important character was not meant to be seriously jeopardised) Caress could have written Darling Dominique - Black Lust & White Lies.
But then I'd want to see real consequences, not just a few bitchy exchanges here and there.
A national media frenzy, and how would that affect Denver-Carrington's association with Ms. Deveraux? Will Blake be forced to make a difficult choice, and is Krystle going to support him? (Alexis tells Adam to keep her informed 24/7). Is Hilda Gunnerson going to be fired when she brings a copy into the kitchen? And will she be represented by a handsome rough 'n tough union man who falls in love with Krystle?

 

[Ked]

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Dominique never became more than Blake's sister, unless you think her music career and her boring daughter and her boring ex-lover was brilliant soap drama.
But if she had been a serious adversary (after setting up her cocaine business in La Mirage in a neo-blaxploitation kind of way) and then find out in Tom's video will that she's a member of that most irritating Carrington clan....well I think the people in Denver would have something to say about that.

Father Christopher should have been the most destroyed character in prime time soap: sobbing on the church floor, naked, covered in blood, holding the lifeless body of Julia after he had stabbed her to death(ish).

It also depends on which characters they have a connection with. Instead of being Blake's sister, Dominique would have had more to do as Joseph's ex-wife/Kirby's mother, as she'd want revenge against Alexis and Adam, and would do anything to destroy them. We could have gotten a storyline similar to what we got with Sable in Season 9. Plus, I still like the idea of Dominique's other daughter Jackie (or "Jade") becoming obsessively in love with Miles, thus making Dominique and Sable meddling mother-in-laws. C'mon, who WOULDN'T want a rivalry between Dominique and Sable?

 

[Zara]

Oh yes, it all looks very contrived and all the characters take the bait to make those schemes feasible.
But the reason it looks that way - and why it usually doesn't in Dynasty - is that Dallas always completed those schemes and storylines, sometimes with satisfying results, sometimes not.
Perhaps that explains a part of the Great Leslie Stewart Mystery - it didn't work out fabulously but they didn't realise that until that story arc was completed.
Everything else in that storyline was fine, just not for her. But that's still preferable to nipping story developments in the bud because the outcome might be uncertain.
If Dallas was the lesser soap then it was because the writers were more committed than the Dynasty writers.
Knots Landing, often touted as the most "grounded" soap, actually had the most outlandish storylines and often with very surprising results. Falcon Crest was a little too spectacular for its own good and they thought they could defy all the soap rules.
No matter how ridiculous it looks, it is a rule that all the Ewings live at Southfork. It's always more effective to be dramatic when you have an audience aka the precious family.
Dallas and Dynasty always looked their very worst-best when it looked awkward, those characters who were supposed to be above reproach. Sammy Jo knew it.

My problem with Dallas is, it's a oneman-show, where the others must be the absolute weakest versions of themselves to serve JR:s next move and sociopathic behaviour. I'm not saying it is necessarily wrong, as JR is an icon, but in the show's world of conflict it becomes dull and predicted. No organic development.

Amazing entertainment as long as JR produced drama, but you couldn't shift the show's dynamic the slightest in fear of what it would do with the viewers and JR himself.

 

[Zara]

It also depends on which characters they have a connection with. Instead of being Blake's sister, Dominique would have had more to do as Joseph's ex-wife/Kirby's mother, as she'd want revenge against Alexis and Adam, and would do anything to destroy them. We could have gotten a storyline similar to what we got with Sable in Season 9. Plus, I still like the idea of Dominique's other daughter Jackie (or "Jade") becoming obsessively in love with Miles, thus making Dominique and Sable meddling mother-in-laws. C'mon, who WOULDN'T want a rivalry between Dominique and Sable?

That's two brilliant ideas! I wished it would have happened.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

My problem with Dallas is, it's a oneman-show, where the others must be the absolute weakest versions of themselves to serve JR:s next move and sociopathic behaviour. I'm not saying it is necessarily wrong, as JR is an icon, but in the show's world of conflict it becomes dull and predicted. No organic development.

Amazing entertainment as long as JR produced drama, but you couldn't shift the show's dynamic the slightest in fear of what it would do with the viewers and JR himself.

The first few seasons of DALLAS were indeed like that -- JR was the key character, and at times a little scary. I would say, however, that DALLAS' central years brought a much greater balance (the other Ewings and their storylines had developed properly) and it wasn't just the J.R. Show... But by the latter seasons, nothing seemed to matter all that much -- much less JR's villainy (replaced by his tiresome desperation and a loss of braincells -- which could have worked but didn't).

 

[Willie Oleson]

I vaguely remember a little insignificant character named Ken Barnes or something, but he didn't do very much.
And I really wish they had shown more of Sue Ellen. Talk about missed opportunities

 

[Ked]

That's two brilliant ideas! I wished it would have happened.

Awww, thank you! x3 Yes, I do too.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I vaguely remember a little insignificant character named Ken Barnes or something, but he didn't do very much.
And I really wish they had shown more of Sue Ellen. Talk about missed opportunities

I think it's a matter of proportion. If one only watches the early seasons, then DALLAS largely looks like The J.R. Show, the central catalyst causing everybody to do or react however they do.

After Season 2, DYNASTY doesn't quite look like The Alexis Show only because DYNASTY no longer had any storylines.

 

[Ked]

Also, back on the subject of how on DALLAS, the whole Ewing family lived on Southfork vs how most of the Carringtons lived at the mansion.

While I haven't seen the entirety of DALLAS, I did think that DYNASTY managed to justify having their own family stick so close together - or at least, at times, they *could* have justified it. For example:

Alexis' studio gave her the perfect excuse to prowling around the mansion grounds, going in and out of the house and butting into the lives of her children, ex-husband and new rival. And what's more, Blake couldn't resort to more extreme measures to get her out, as he was on probation and already had the law breathing down his neck. Heck, I think they should have kept the studio around, as that would have provided excuses for other characters:

-Jeff and Kirby; once they got together, they definitely should have moved in Cecil's old mansion with Alexis, only for said mansion to burn down in the Season 3 finale. Afterwards, they move into Alexis' studio, with the justification being that Jeff wants to build his own mansion, so they have to wait for it to be built (except it never does, as he ends up changing his mind); plus, Jeff could further justify saying that he wants to keep his son closer to Fallon - which rubs Kirby the wrong way, but oh well.

-Caress; while I do like her flitting about Alexis' triplex apartment and demanding a place to stay, I would have had her do that simply as a way to get under her sister's skin. Once she's accomplished that, Caress then makes the brazen move into Alexis' studio, so that she can visit with Krystle and her nieces/nephews to get some new stories.

-Why, even Alexis herself could make the periodic visit to her old studio to "get away from it all" when really she's just there to drive Krystle up the wall again.

As for the other characters: of course Blake and Krystle are going to live there, and of course Fallon is, too, she's Daddy's Little Princess - as is Amanda. Adam is another natural inhabitant, as he's the firstborn son and wants to become Lord of the House once the time comes, so he might as well make his presence known. Sammy Jo would have all sorts of reasons to live there/visit (her marriage to Steven, her visiting Danny, her wanting to get close to Krystle for the "Rita" operation - and for this one, she'd use the Moldavian Massacre as justification for suddenly wanting to "reconcile" with her aunt).

In fact, the Moldavian Massacre would have been a perfect excuse for nearly everyone living at the mansion: after all, they all just survived a harrowing incident (or at least, let's pretend for this rewrite that it actually *was*, haha).

Plus, in the earlier seasons, a core trait of Steven was his desire to escape the world of the Carringtons, and for a while, he kinda did; even getting his own apartment. But I think he should have remained that way for Seasons 4 and 5, with him moving back into the mansion in Season 6. After all, not only did he just survive a massacre and would want to remain close to his family, he *also* finally reconciled with Blake, who finally proved that he genuinely accepted Steven for being gay - and I would have had that be done with Blake declaring that Luke (who, in this rewrite, did NOT die) would be taken back to the Carrington mansion and become one of them.

Claudia became basically a patient of the family in Season 2, and she had that whole "marriage of convenience" with Steven in Season 4... and... I'm gonna admit something: I actually don't hate her getting together with Adam. Thus, Claudia would end up living at the mansion as a natural result. Only this time, Blake isn't all "You two betrayed Steven!" Instead, Blake's concern lies in the fact that Adam and Claudia are very obviously rebounding with each other, and not only is it inappropriate, it's also potentially dangerous... and he turns out to be right.

Oh yeah, and something else, just to add: with Jeff, at least when he and Fallon divorced again, even though he moved out and got his own apartment, he had plenty of good reasons to still come over: visiting his kids, helping out Blake, still being on friendly terms with Fallon... Yeah. With the Carringtons, *somehow* it all felt natural for everyone to be living in (or near) that great big house.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I think a few fundamental DALLAS things are being overlooked here.

It was very much an oil business soap with elaborate business storylines, and JR just happened to be in charge of Ewing Oil.
Those office scenes and business appointments wouldn't necessarily take up an awful lot of screen time, but here's the thing: other characters were poking their nosy noses into his shady business conduct and that means he had to come with a lot of plan B's to make sure they had more important things to worry about.
So then you'd get the sub-plot of lying to Jock or besmirching Cliff's reputation or making Pam feel miserable which she would take out on Bobby.
Meanwhile, his own wife was becoming more and more opinionated and that was another problem that needed to go away (spoiler: it didn't).
It wasn't JR manipulating everything just for the heck of it, the other characters made it necessary (from his point of view anyway).
I think Blake was also very much involved with everyone in Dynasty's first season, telling everybody what to do and how to feel.
But Dynasty office scenes was for characters to barge in or to storm out (usually followed by a dramatic turn in the doorway for that final threat or insult).
There was no Kristin taking notes.

As for Southfork, that wasn't only a matter of logistics. It had a far more dramatic undertone because of Miss Ellie's emotional blackmail.
She didn't say "if you leave Southfork I'm going to die. Drop dead right here and now" but the message was always very clear. Don't. leave. ever.
Same in Falcon Crest except that Angela's blackmail was more literal. "If you leave Falcon Crest I will cut you out of my will" which, incidentally, she did on a regular basis.
There's more to these mansions than the square feet of it.
Furthermore, no matter how big Blake's mansion was, it's not clear if they were actually living/sleeping in different parts of the house.
They were always bumping into each other and if something happened in the middle of the night they were all standing in the same corridor.
Didn't JR and Sue Ellen have their room downstairs as opposed to Bobby and Pam's room upstairs? And in the pilot series they didn't even sleep in the main house at all.
Either way, they all had to be present for dinner. Because Jock said so. It comes with the territory.