Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
...since we've never done that before.
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Let's talk about Linda Evans' acting
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Angela Channing
Telly Talk Veteran
I wasn't a fan of her acting in Dynasty. Why did she think it was necessary to deliver every line in that whispery tone to her voice? Even when she had to shout she still managed to do it in that whispery voice, how is that even possible? Then there's her head which she would often shake, for no apparent reason, as she spoke which was really annoying and sometimes distracting. And don't get me started on when she was playing Rita. What the hell was that fake accent? Did she really think that was convincing? She is a limited actress in playing one role so how on earth did they think she could pull off two?
James from London
International Treasure
I thought she was great, especially in that first year or two. She was especially good when she and Blake were in conflict because she had more to sink her teeth into. 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. And Evans had to do that kind of thing for years on end. Personally, 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.
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Grant Jennings
Telly Talk TV Fanatic
I think Linda Evans naturalistic, unaffected style of acting brought some much needed believability to Dynasty. I think she did a brilliant job of portraying someone who was sensitive and non-confrontational who possessed an inner strength even she was unaware of. The scene in season one where Krystle puts Joseph in his place is an excellent example of this: Krystle doesn't enjoy doing it but does it because she feels backed into a corner. The most telling part comes right after when she has walked away and you can see that this has taken a lot out of her.
Another great scene was in season two when Krystle confronts Nick and slaps him. Angela Channing notes Evans' "whispery tone" which I think is used to good effect as Krystle begins speaking to Nick softly (I'm sure Krystle's parents raised her to be ladylike and not raise her voice) but when he evades her questions her tone changes. Evans does the same thing in season nine when Krystle threatens to kill Alexis: she starts trying to reason with Alexis in a soft, whispery tone but when it becomes clear that Alexis won't be reasonable (shocking!) her speech is full-throated.
I think the first two seasons of Dynasty, before it devolved into camp, as well as season nine showcase some excellent acting from Linda Evans and other cast members, notably Pamela Bellwood and Al Corley.
Another great scene was in season two when Krystle confronts Nick and slaps him. Angela Channing notes Evans' "whispery tone" which I think is used to good effect as Krystle begins speaking to Nick softly (I'm sure Krystle's parents raised her to be ladylike and not raise her voice) but when he evades her questions her tone changes. Evans does the same thing in season nine when Krystle threatens to kill Alexis: she starts trying to reason with Alexis in a soft, whispery tone but when it becomes clear that Alexis won't be reasonable (shocking!) her speech is full-throated.
I think the first two seasons of Dynasty, before it devolved into camp, as well as season nine showcase some excellent acting from Linda Evans and other cast members, notably Pamela Bellwood and Al Corley.
Monzo
Telly Talk Star
John Ingle was her high school acting coach. I remember I reading an interview in Soap Opera Digest once about his students including Linda Evans and others like Meredith Baxter, Richard Dreyfuss, Albert Brooks, Swoosie Kurtz, Barbara Hershey, David Schwimmer and Nicolas Cage. I remember how much he praised the acting of Cage or Dreyfuss, but when asked about Linda Evans he said how friendly and shy she was and that she looked very beautiful when she acted, but he said nothing about the quality of her acting.
Jimmy Todd
Telly Talk Mega Star
I liked her acting in seasons 1 and 2. Regarding the later seasons, I wonder how Linda Evans would have done in the hands of better writers and directors, such as the ones over on Knots Landing.
the-lost-son
Telly Talk Well-Known Member
My thoughts as well.
The character was best in the first two seasons and the acting goes along with that.
After that the character becomes more and more one-dimensional, repetitive (like the whole series by the way) and increasingly limits the portrayal of Evan's acting range.
The whispery tone is repeated frequently at a certain point. I can see why people dislike this. But I blame it more on the writers' lack of different storytelling. The character seems to be stuck in the same situations, like commenting on the actions of others.
It reminds me of Donna Reed. During her short stint in Dallas she applied this whispery tone to comment in a dignified way all the time. But she wasn't given any other situation to show the multitude of her acting skills either.
Funny, I know that Dallas wanted to copy Dynasty at a certain point. I just now realized the tried it also by the acting of their lead cast.
Jimmy Todd
Telly Talk Mega Star
I think the writing and directing can really hinder an actor, some actors more than others.
Regarding @James from London 's very interesting point about how well Linda did with the Krystle/Rita arc, was there any actor on Dynasty that you think still gave a good or even excellent performance despite the writing? I think James makes a good point because I was distracted by the absurdity of that particular storyline that maybe I didn't give Linda enough credit there. An actor can only do so much with the material they're given.
Regarding @James from London 's very interesting point about how well Linda did with the Krystle/Rita arc, was there any actor on Dynasty that you think still gave a good or even excellent performance despite the writing? I think James makes a good point because I was distracted by the absurdity of that particular storyline that maybe I didn't give Linda enough credit there. An actor can only do so much with the material they're given.
Laurie Marr
Telly Talk Well-Known Member
In my younger days I always regarded Evans as overly simpering. Now, I think she radiates virtue in a way that’s perfect for a show that quickly became a cartoon.
ClassyCo
Telly Talk Warrior
Like most things concerning DYNASTY, Linda Evans was good at the start of the show. I felt she offered a soft, breezier side to the more power-hungry Carringtons. In my opinion, I felt Krystle worked best when she was on the "outside" of that inner family clique.
As things lingered on, however, as the writing on DYNASTY weakened, I'd say Krystle became probably my least favorite character of the main cast. The only reason I liked her being around was so Alexis could devour her with her tongue, but that's about it. Evans was just too sedate, too bland, too "I don't know" and I just stopped liking her.
To be the "virginal" matriarch of the show, I didn't miss her when she left.
As things lingered on, however, as the writing on DYNASTY weakened, I'd say Krystle became probably my least favorite character of the main cast. The only reason I liked her being around was so Alexis could devour her with her tongue, but that's about it. Evans was just too sedate, too bland, too "I don't know" and I just stopped liking her.
To be the "virginal" matriarch of the show, I didn't miss her when she left.
Brian Kinney
Telly Talk Addict
Linda Evans is BACK as RITA!!!
In Todd Stephens' Swan Song by the writer of The Edge of Seventeen, an "elegiac ode to the gay elders who made it possible for younger generations to live openly and proudly. (...)
Udo Kier stars as the fictionalized Mr. Pat, a retired hairdresser who at the beginning of the film has resigned himself to a life of cinderblock walls and dirty sweats in an anonymous nursing home. (...)
But mostly, Mr. Pat lives in the past. So it’s a bit confusing when the past comes to visit him, in the form of an attorney (Tom Bloom) who informs him that a former client, socialite and “demanding Republican monster” Rita Parker Sloan (Linda Evans), has willed Mr. Pat $25,000 with one condition: He has to do her hair for her funeral."
Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) plays Rita's grandson and Jennifer Coolidge (currently in HBO's The White Lotus) co-stars!
Available in select theaters August 6 (USA) and VOD August 13.
In Todd Stephens' Swan Song by the writer of The Edge of Seventeen, an "elegiac ode to the gay elders who made it possible for younger generations to live openly and proudly. (...)
Udo Kier stars as the fictionalized Mr. Pat, a retired hairdresser who at the beginning of the film has resigned himself to a life of cinderblock walls and dirty sweats in an anonymous nursing home. (...)
But mostly, Mr. Pat lives in the past. So it’s a bit confusing when the past comes to visit him, in the form of an attorney (Tom Bloom) who informs him that a former client, socialite and “demanding Republican monster” Rita Parker Sloan (Linda Evans), has willed Mr. Pat $25,000 with one condition: He has to do her hair for her funeral."
Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) plays Rita's grandson and Jennifer Coolidge (currently in HBO's The White Lotus) co-stars!
Available in select theaters August 6 (USA) and VOD August 13.
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Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Oh, my.
Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
What a wonderful surprise!
James from London
International Treasure
How great. I thought Evans bonding with Ade Edmondson on Hell's Kitchen was surreal, but her and Udo Kier together is a whole other level. I love Udo Kier. He turns up in the strangest places.
( I have to admit to hoping Joan Collins will be ever so slightly jealous.)
( I have to admit to hoping Joan Collins will be ever so slightly jealous.)
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Willie Oleson
Telly Talk Schemer
Does the Denver Mirror do movie reviews?
Snarky Oracle!
Telly Talk Supreme
Despite Esther Shapiro and Doug Cramer praising the Pollocks all over the place for being "brilliant," the series' head constructionists seemed to be much of the problem, barely able to contain their contempt for Krystle and indeed Linda Evans.
When they had to retool Season 6 midway through, Evans had to miss a meeting with the producers because of a Clairol commercial she was contracted to shoot in France, so the Pollocks (whose misguided scripting had created the problem in the first case) sneered about her in the press that "some people think of DYNASTY as a part time job."
The utter gall. (To be fair, they also tried to suggest that Joan missing one episode 6 months earlier had somehow thrown off the trajectory of the plots irreparably.)
Then, when Linda asked them to make Krystle a little stronger and to let her do the kinds of things she did in her Outback-based TV movie THE LAST FRONTEIR, they told her no, that Krystle needed to be kept as the unthreatening simp she was. Yet, around the same time, Eileen "Mike" Pollock says about Krystle in the press that "I think Krystle's boring" and added that Evans "is a tigress about how she wants to play Krystle," implying that that's why Krystle is boring --- because Linda doesn't want Blake or Krystle to cheat on each other?? Apparently so).
Then they have Alexis telling Krystle how "boring" she is in the foyer of the mansion, the Pollocks clearly speaking their dismissive opinions through Joan's mouth... Do we really want Alexis' subjective and self-serving perspective of the other characters shared by the programs key writers?
Linda Evans is, as we know, not the most confident actress in the world, but she can be very good when she believes the scripts and her own dialogue, which is no doubt why her performance changed so pointedly as the show progressed (although that sudden shift in Season 3 is much less evident to me than it once was). In the later seasons, her delivery became much more airy and superficial, other industry observers (like HILL STREET BLUES producer Steven Bochco) said public things like Evans "can't act her way out of a paper bag," and she also stopped appearing in various Top 10 lists while Joan continued to do so. Even with the upturn in writing in Season 9, Linda still seemed to be on automatic, no longer sure of how to play Krystle from the heart.
The static acting directive from roughly Season 3 onward didn't help anybody's performance (and it drove Leann Hunley away in 1988, who spilled the beans on S.A.D. as she exited) but no one's acting was more affected by it as eventually manifest in Evans' interpretation of Krystle Carrington, the series' golden queen.
It should be noted that in projects away from DYNASTY, Linda was able to relax and express her lines convincingly once again.
When they had to retool Season 6 midway through, Evans had to miss a meeting with the producers because of a Clairol commercial she was contracted to shoot in France, so the Pollocks (whose misguided scripting had created the problem in the first case) sneered about her in the press that "some people think of DYNASTY as a part time job."
The utter gall. (To be fair, they also tried to suggest that Joan missing one episode 6 months earlier had somehow thrown off the trajectory of the plots irreparably.)
Then, when Linda asked them to make Krystle a little stronger and to let her do the kinds of things she did in her Outback-based TV movie THE LAST FRONTEIR, they told her no, that Krystle needed to be kept as the unthreatening simp she was. Yet, around the same time, Eileen "Mike" Pollock says about Krystle in the press that "I think Krystle's boring" and added that Evans "is a tigress about how she wants to play Krystle," implying that that's why Krystle is boring --- because Linda doesn't want Blake or Krystle to cheat on each other?? Apparently so).
Then they have Alexis telling Krystle how "boring" she is in the foyer of the mansion, the Pollocks clearly speaking their dismissive opinions through Joan's mouth... Do we really want Alexis' subjective and self-serving perspective of the other characters shared by the programs key writers?
Linda Evans is, as we know, not the most confident actress in the world, but she can be very good when she believes the scripts and her own dialogue, which is no doubt why her performance changed so pointedly as the show progressed (although that sudden shift in Season 3 is much less evident to me than it once was). In the later seasons, her delivery became much more airy and superficial, other industry observers (like HILL STREET BLUES producer Steven Bochco) said public things like Evans "can't act her way out of a paper bag," and she also stopped appearing in various Top 10 lists while Joan continued to do so. Even with the upturn in writing in Season 9, Linda still seemed to be on automatic, no longer sure of how to play Krystle from the heart.
The static acting directive from roughly Season 3 onward didn't help anybody's performance (and it drove Leann Hunley away in 1988, who spilled the beans on S.A.D. as she exited) but no one's acting was more affected by it as eventually manifest in Evans' interpretation of Krystle Carrington, the series' golden queen.
It should be noted that in projects away from DYNASTY, Linda was able to relax and express her lines convincingly once again.
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GillesDenver
Telly Talk Dream Maker
Yes. To me, the very first time her acting became less strong is the scene in which Claudia accused Krystle of having tried to kill her (end of season 2). You can see in her eyes that she did not believe what she is saying. That went worst in season 3, mostly in the scenes with Mark. And by season 4, she was in "auto mode" most of the time. She seemed to find some interest in the scenes with Daniel Reece (season 5) but that was short-lived.
Sarah
Moderator Emerita
I can’t comment on her acting but it has always got to me that she seemed to have a higher profile at a time than Linda Gray who is a wonderful actress and was surely more well known as Sue Ellen.
My fellow Irishman Sir Terry Wogan used to put my head away when he would introduce my Linda as Linda Evans. I actually shouted at him once
My fellow Irishman Sir Terry Wogan used to put my head away when he would introduce my Linda as Linda Evans. I actually shouted at him once