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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 167983" data-attributes="member: 22">08 Mar 90: KNOTS LANDING: Devil on My Shoulder v. 09 Mar 90: DALLAS: Paradise Lost v. 09 Mar 90: FALCON CREST: Vigil This week, KNOTS LANDING opens with Val stabbing her latest husband — Danny Waleska — in self-defence (thereby following in the recent footsteps of FC’s Sydney St James). The life of another Danny also hangs in the balance at the start of this week’s FALCON CREST where Danny Sharpe is in critical condition at Soap Land Memorial Hospital following his car crash at the end of the last episode.His father Michael attempts to bring his considerable wealth to bear on the situation, just as previous Soap Land tycoons in his position have done. But whereas Blake Carrington would demand “the best insert-field-of-speciality surgeon in the country” be flown in from wherever, Michael favours a more direct approach. “I will pay you anything to save my son’s life,” he tells the medic in charge, “anything. A castle in Europe, a yacht, whatever — you name it.” “Mr Sharpe, I’m a doctor,” comes the patient reply. “I don’t need to be bribed. Now please, let me do my job.”Two weeks ago, Anne Matheson returned to KNOTS after hearing about Mary Frances’s death. This week, Anne Bowen arrives in FALCON CREST after learning of her son Danny’s accident. There are several similarities between the two Annes. Just as Anne M knew Mack and Greg in the late ‘60s when the two men were still friends, Anne B knew Michael and Richard in the early ‘70s when they were business partners rather than deadly enemies. Mack is the father of Anne M’s daughter; Michael is the father of Anne B’s son (and also her ex-husband). Although both Annes are from New York, only one is a college professor. There is also an unanswered question about each of them: If Anne M is the rich heiress Karen describes her as to Paula, why do we then see her pawning her jewellery? If Anne B, as she claims, only knew Richard professionally when she was married to Michael, why is enigmatic piano music played on the soundtrack when the two are left briefly alone together?While a judiciously applied ballpoint pen saves Danny Waleska’s life on KNOTS, some vigorous earlobe tugging on DALLAS leads Miss Ellie and Clayton to conclude that Arlen Ward is his own twin brother Atticus come back to life and that he is responsible for the murders of Curly Morrison and Rabbit Hutch. There’s more marital sleuthing on FALCON CREST where Lance and Pilar deduce that Michael must have sabotaged Sydney’s car and is therefore responsible for Danny’s crash. When reminded that Arlen/Atticus has an alibi, Ellie suggests that “he could have hired somebody to kill Rabbit.” “Sharpe’s not gonna tamper with the car, he’d hire someone,” echoes Richard when Lance and Pilar tell him their theory. Whereas the Farlows’ murder mystery is disconnected from the rest of the action on DALLAS, Richard views Michael’s involvement in the accident as “a chance to get Falcon Crest back in the family … With the right information, we’ll have the power to make Sharpe do anything we want him to.”While Danny S undergoes life or death surgery, Danny W recovers sufficiently from his stabbing to sit across the table from Val at some sort of police hearing to determine which of them is responsible for the stabbing. Val is indignant. As far as she is concerned, she was protecting herself (“This man attacked me!”) and now wants to forget the marriage ever took place. But it’s not that simple. “It’s your word against his,” Mack explains, “and he’s the one who got stabbed.” Unsurprisingly, Danny plays for sympathy: “I don’t know why this happened,” he tells the hearing. “My marriage to Val is the most important thing in my life … I love you, Val.” Val and Danny aren’t the only Ewingverse couple to air their marital laundry in front of a professional third party this week. At JR’s suggestion, he and Cally visit a marriage counsellor: “Maybe he can get to the root of our problems.” Cally’s main grievance — JR neglecting her in favour of his business — chimes directly with Anne Bowen’s account of her life with Michael on FC: “I never understood how you could be gone so much and still expect to have a marriage,” she tells him. JR and Cally’s counsellor seems unusually pessimistic about their relationship. “Sooner or later, it was bound to go wrong,” he tells Cally. “I don’t think JR is going to change.”It transpires that JR isn’t really interested in making his marriage work. Rather, the visits to the counsellor are part of an elaborate plan to get Cally to leave him. But why doesn’t he just kick her off the ranch? Because that would upset Miss Ellie and John Ross, of course. “My family adores Cally,” he explains to Serena. “Mama loves her like a daughter, my son thinks she’s his best friend … If I kicked her out of the house now, I’d be the one sleeping in the dog house.” This explanation is so weak, even Serena questions it: “Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” It’s as if JR has become so addicted to his own deviousness that he has started inventing reasons to scheme. “When Cally leaves me, as I assure you she will, there won’t be a person on earth who doesn’t feel sorry for old JR!” he crows. But even though this storyline plays like a bargain basement version of his past attempts to drive Sue Ellen off of Southfork, there’s still an undeniable frisson in watching the old master plot against his nearest and (supposedly) dearest. The final scene of the ep where he visits the counsellor's office, ostensibly to tear a strip off him for the negative advice he’s been giving Cally, is a hoot. “You’re doing a hell of a job busting up my marriage,” he snaps, before tossing a bundle of cash onto the desk. “Keep up the good work!” he adds with a chuckle. KNOTS likewise ends with a last-minute marital twist — no sooner has Val finished explaining to the twins that “Danny’s not gonna be Mommy’s husband after all” than Danny himself walks through the front door. “I’m home!” he announces with a smile.While JR and Val want Cally and Danny gone, Bobby wants April back from her hometown of Springdale. But April’s had enough of living in a soap opera. “If I go back and marry Bobby,” she tells her childhood friend Beth, “I’ll be caught in the middle of all those battles and power struggles. I’m not sure I can do it anymore.” She’s not the only one. In the most abrupt Soap Land departure since Grace McKenzie disappeared halfway through an episode of THE YELLOW ROSE, it transpires that Sydney has run away from FALCON CREST in-between episodes, never to be seen again. It’s a most unexpected turn of events — for a while, she looked set to be the show’s new heroine.And this week’s Top 3 are …1 (1) KNOTS LANDING2 (2) FALCON CREST3 (3) DALLAS</blockquote>

Verification: Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?