New interview with Claudia Lonow

[Julia's Gun]

I came across this lovely interview with Claudia Lonow. There is loads about Knots from 11.10 onwards.
I love how close she has stayed with Michele, that Kim Lankford was closest to her in age on the show, and how they let her write some dialogue for her return scenes in the final season:

 

[James from London]

Thanks for this. I've listened to Lonow on a bunch of podcasts and she's such good value as an interviewee: generous, smart, funny, honest and self-deprecating.

 

[James from London]

Oh cool -- 29 minutes in, she bigs up Larry Elikkan, my favourite Soap Land director!

 

[Julia's Gun]

Oh cool -- 29 minutes in, she bigs up Larry Elikkan, my favourite Soap Land director!

Yes, I noted that too. She gets his name slightly wrong, but great that she remembers him. He sounds like he was an old school Hitchcock type, with the cigar protruding and maybe a voice like Max from Hart to Hart...

 

[James from London]

He sounds like he was an old school Hitchcock type

He directed all of the Lorimar soaps, Knots, Falcon Crest and Flamingo Road, but sadly only one episode of Dallas. He's the only Soap Land director whose style is so distinctive that you can tell almost immediately when it's one of his eps.

 

[Julia's Gun]

Yes, out of interest, which Dallas episode was it? I'd like to give it a view and see.

 

[TaranofPrydain]

Yes, out of interest, which Dallas episode was it? I'd like to give it a view and see.

According to IMDb, it is The Sting from Dallas's 6th season (by DVD count)

 

[Julia's Gun]

According to IMDb, it is The Sting from Dallas's 6th season (by DVD count)

Great, thanks. I'm going to watch it now...

 

[James from London]

Yes, 'The Sting' Probably cos Dallas already had its own (very traditional) house style, Elikkan doesn't get to make his mark quite so distinctively here as he does on the other soaps. But still, the ep does a bit of flair to it. I'd say the most Eikkan-seque scenes are the bedroom showdown between Bobby and JR, and the prison scene which ends with Walt Driscoll being led away by the guards as he vows to get even with JR while practically looking straight down the camera lens.

 

[Julia's Gun]

I just watched this, and it certainly has Elikann's stamp on it throughout.
The camera is cranked down a bit in almost every scene, so you feel like you are there on the set, just behind the cameraman, and it's all a bit sneeky.

There are scenes with the cartel meeting where the camera is at their eye level, and also with Lucy and Mickey with lots of close ups, but the most stand out one was with Pam and Katherine. A really unusual scene where they are both sitting cross-legged together on the floor. Pam is stretched out with her hand on a coffee table, and Katherine is sitting by her. It's almost like that exercise scene in Knots, where Karen, Val and Abby are working out on the floor. But we're not used to seeing these glamourous ladies in positions like this. (It all fits the plot, because Katherine has a scene with JR later where she says she is staying next door to Pam's apartment and knows just what is going on.)

Shame this was his only episode of Dallas. I wonder why? I can remember several episodes he directed on Falcon Crest, and they also have that distinctive, eye-level close up feel too.

 

[James from London]

I just watched this, and it certainly has Elikann's stamp on it throughout.
The camera is cranked down a bit in almost every scene, so you feel like you are there on the set, just behind the cameraman, and it's all a bit sneeky.

There are scenes with the cartel meeting where the camera is at their eye level, and also with Lucy and Mickey with lots of close ups, but the most stand out one was with Pam and Katherine. A really unusual scene where they are both sitting cross-legged together on the floor. Pam is stretched out with her hand on a coffee table, and Katherine is sitting by her. It's almost like that exercise scene in Knots, where Karen, Val and Abby are working out on the floor. But we're not used to seeing these glamourous ladies in positions like this. (It all fits the plot, because Katherine has a scene with JR later where she says she is staying next door to Pam's apartment and knows just what is going on.)

Great observations! There's also the bit where, if I recall correctly, one scene ends with JR opening a bottle of champagne while in bed with Serena, only for the expected sound of the cork popping to come at the start of the next scene, courtesy of a waiter at a restaurant table adjacent to Pam and Mark's. It's a nice little touch that has nothing to do with anything story-wise, but adds a bit of flow to the ep.

Shame this was his only episode of Dallas. I wonder why?

I guess they just preferred a more uniform style on Dallas. David Paulsen talked about this when I interviewed him a million years ago: how Dallas had a certain look, while Knots varied dramatically from episode to episode. I got the impression he preferred the Dallas way of doing things.