nuDynasty Episode Chat S3E01: Guilt Trip to Alaska (Season Premiere)

[Matthew Blaisdel]

No many of us - not to say "none" - care about Jeff. Even in social medias, watchers don't care about Jeff. Yet, he's still a series regular, and Steven is not.

And now in S3 Monica is still not in the opening credits, although Wakeema Hollis highly deserves it imo! I'm VERY angry about that, as this might be the last season and last chance to promote her, one of the finest actresses of the whole cast!

 

[tommie]

Which makes it even weirder that Sam didn't want to go. He'd never miss a party...or a chance to take a few thousand selfies.

Actually, he did say he was afraid of fish when Kirby pointed out that it didn't make sense that he'd not go out of solidarity for her.

 

[thomaswak]

Actually, he did say he was afraid of fish when Kirby pointed out that it didn't make sense that he'd not go out of solidarity for her.

It's true.

But either he was lying to Kirby, either it was out of character. In Season 2 episode 18, Sam asked if the Carringtons could "turn the living room into an aquarium", because he wanted an "under the sea" theme party (then Adam suggested the masquerade party they went for)

 

[Brian Kinney]

Also the CW (ex UPN/WB) is known for forcing the producers to have some actors... My friend used to work with them a merchandising licensee for TV series Charmed. He told me that actor Jason Lewis was forced to the producers and writing team of the show. They had to create this new character (Dex Lawson) for 6 episodes, just because.

This is rather due to an agreement the studio has with a Talent Agency. The Talent Agency works with the studio's casting dept. If they did well in the beginning of casting the show with a package (many leads from the same Talent Agency) they agree upon casting guest or recurring roles with their actors first. (BTW: how can Jason Lewis be "forced" to anyone? A decent actor, aging well and just ...sigh...)

Another scenario could be an exclusive agreement between Network and actor/Talent Agency. For example if they want to keep a star from a cancelled show they give them a role in another show: Vanessa Williams had this after Ugly Betty. She was in Desperate Housewives and 66 Park Avenue because of it.

 

[Daniel Avery]

An actor may be under contract to a studio, so when the studio needs actors for one of their projects, it stands to reason they would give preference to someone they're already paying. Kevin Dobson was in this sort of situation when they hired him to play Mack MacKenzie on Knots Landing. When Tom Eplin was playing Jake McKinnon on Another World, he renegotiated his contract so that he was paid by the production company directly rather than by his show. He did this because Another World was in ratings trouble and he sensed the end may be near. When AW was cancelled, the production company transferred him and his character to one of their other soaps (As the World Turns) because they would have to have paid him anyway.

Anyway, I just re-watched S3E1* to see if some of my lingering questions were answered. Namely, did they say whether the Blake/Cristal wedding actually finished up. The uninvited guests turning up would surely ruin the mood of the occasion, but it's the wedding license, not the ceremony that determines whether they are officially married. No one really clarified whether or not they consider themselves married. The minister may have stopped the vows so he could administer last rites.

Wakeema Hollis might not be in the opening credits (boo!) but she did get the top spot in the "Guest Starring" credits. They had (I think) eleven people in the opening credits so I can see why they might have to hold off on that one. The pictures are wooshing by at lightning speed in an effort to get them all in.

Not sure if it was mentioned, but it wasn't Fallon's confession at the police station that caused Blake to get arrested--at least in what we've seen so far. She told the police what happened when Trixie died, then added that Mack got rid of the body ten years earlier (and not Blake, who said he did it earlier). The police arrived to arrest Blake for Mack's murder, not Trixie's. So Blake's arrest is because (I'm guessing) Adam screwed up when switching the toe-tags.

I also noticed that in that preview with Liam in the wheelchair, it was Laura, not Ashley, who was fighting with Fallon. So I guess we'll be seeing the ol' Dragon Lady again. I'm still leaning toward Liam faking the amnesia.

* If you have Comcast like I do, they have Dynasty on their OnDemand service, in case some readers are still looking for a reliable place to see it that doesn't involve clicking on strange hyperlinks you don't trust.

 

[xab]

Forgive me for not reading the whole thread. I don’t know if this was mentioned but I am entirely miffed. So upset that their was no title card or memorial at the end of the episode for Diahann Carrol. Her character is on the show! I know it’s different and a reboot, but I think it would have been a good gesture. I know the Shapiros get a credit, and I would think they would ask for something for her. It’s just disheartening to me. I actually enjoy the show for what it is. But that really hit me. I know she has no connection to the CW or this reboot, but does that mean if Joan Collins died, they won’t honor her as Alexis? It’s not like they didn’t have time. It goes to show that the showrunners have no idea what they are doing.

It was a “good” episode.

I'm certainely not trying to be CW Dynasty's advocate but I guess the episode was shot and edited long before Diahann Carroll's passing...?

Let's wait and see how they pay tribute to the one and only Dominique D. If they do...

 

[thomaswak]

(BTW: how can Jason Lewis be "forced" to anyone? A decent actor, aging well and just ...sigh...)

Some creators, some writers, can create a character with some specific ideas on mind. If the producers force them to take an actor that doesn't fit to their vision, to their character, it doesn't mater if the actor is decent, or aging well, ...

Don't we call that "bad casting" ?

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

I actually really enjoyed this episode. Maybe I know what to expect now but I thought for Dynasty this was one of the better episodes we've had recently.

I laughed out loud at the Cristal 3 jokes they sprinkled in. The show has never taken itself that seriously but it was nice to laugh at them poking fun at themselves.

 

[thomaswak]

I actually really enjoyed this episode. Maybe I know what to expect now but I thought for Dynasty this was one of the better episodes we've had recently.

I laughed out loud at the Cristal 3 jokes they sprinkled in. The show has never taken itself that seriously but it was nice to laugh at them poking fun at themselves.

I really enjoyed the premiere too.

I was reading some comments on a french website. Most fan said they left because of season 2 mess. No kidding here, most were disappointed by season 2 and praised season 1. A few of them were dismayed to discovered there was a third Cristal (and asked for the first one to come back)...

 

[Daniel Avery]

My overall opinion on the episode is quite positive. One thing that I noticed almost immediately is that Josh Reims (writing the episode) wanted the viewer to get a better idea of what was going on in the heads of the characters. Too often, the characters in season two seemed to just decide to do things without sufficient motivation or explanation. The actions of the characters seem pointless and meandering if you have no build-up or motivating factors. The Big Slap immediately told us that Adam would be doing his latest shenanigans because he wanted to get back in his father's good graces, while the ease with which Blake smacked Adam told me that we would no longer be enduring last season's dynamic where Adam was the apple of Blake's eye who could do no wrong. Blake got a lot more screen time and became more of a central force in the show, which was not how I felt Blake was being used in season two. Adam's scheming in season two sometimes seemed juvenile and shallow, but when given the right motivation, his behavior (while still creepy) can almost be justified. I actually found myself rooting for him to get the toe-tags properly switched in the morgue. Fallon's "haunting" got gimmicky by the end of the hour, but the interactions gave us a glimpse of a more human side of the quippy heiress who always acts like nothing can get to her. Even the scene of "homeless" Kirby bunking at her office, unlikely though it was, served to show Kirby was already learning that it's lonely at the top. (I say unlikely because the woman certainly could have booked a room in a hotel somewhere else in town--that's what credit cards are for). Her choice to strike out on her own (to "create herself") rather than stick to being "Fallon's sidekick" or "Michael's girlfriend" will be, to quote Anders, "the best thing that she could do". Sam's radical switch from selfie-addicted party animal to what looks to be a serious-minded businessman is another character "creating himself" and growing up, though I think a lot of fans will not be as happy with Sam finally growing up. They liked the old, superficial Sam and if the writing takes him too far away from that original characterization, some will complain.

If Reims intends to provide more human glimpses of the characters like this rather than just rushing through plot-plot-plot, I could definitely get behind his tenure as Showrunner.

 

[Tony]

In one of the reviews last week, nu Dynasty was described as a comedy-drama.

But I'd rather have dark and compelling than silly and slapstick.

 

[Willie Oleson]

In one of the reviews last week, nu Dynasty was described as a comedy-drama.

But I'd rather have dark and compelling than silly and slapstick.

It's been a while since I've watched the season 2 finale and I just didn't have the strength to continue with season 3 (for reasons I have stated too many times already).
Last night my curiosity got the best of me.

Is it possible that I had forgotten what NuDynasty looked like, because I almost didn't recognize it.
It looks like it's become straight comedy now, literally every scene and character is used for a gag. As far as soap opera goes, they aren't even trying anymore.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh. Adam as Liam's fake doctor, Laura Van Kirk bleep-bleeping Fallon out of the hospital, yes it was funny sometimes.
Story-wise there's nothing that tempts me to watch another episode but I'm going to do it anyway.

Because of all the goodness in EMPIRE's dynasty I've got this funny itch to counterbalance it with something....else.
And I have nothing to lose, from now on NuDynasty can only surprise me in a good way - but I don't care if that happens or not.