Saving Season 9

[Chase Gioberti]

I've never been a great fan of season 9, not because it wasn't very good but because to me it wasn't Falcon Crest.

With Angela gone for most of the season, Michael Sharpe became the main character and I never really felt invested in the character because he was a complete outsider.

I understand they had to make budget cuts because of falling audience figures and much of the principle (and more expensive) cast either left or were given less screen time. However, the producers could have made one simple change that would have saved season 9 for me, they should have made Michael Sharpe be Father Chris Rossini (now called Christopher Gioberti) instead. They could even have recast the role with Gregory Harrison.

With just a few minor script changes it could have worked. They could jump forward a few years in time so Chris could have left the priesthood and gone into business by then. He could have had a son and Lauren could have been his half sister, either Anna Rossini or another sister we hadn't previously heard of.

Being Angela's grandson (instead of a distant relation of Maggie's) would have made his interest in owning Falcon Crest far more realistic and given an even stronger basis for his rivalry with Richard.

Just thinking of various scenes in that final season, they would have had so much more power and meaning if the character had been Christopher and most importantly, by being a Gioberti, it would have been easier for viewers to accept him as the new main lead of the show.

What do you think of my idea?

I wish we knew how he was related to Maggie. Maggie was adopted. Was he related to the adopted relatives or the birth relatives?

 

[Monzo]

Richard Riehle has passed away.

Richard Riehle, ‘Office Space’ Actor, Dies at 78

The Wisconsin native also was memorable in ‘The Fugitive,’ ‘Glory,’ ‘Casino,’ ‘Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo’ and ‘Grounded for Life.’

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Richard Riehle had a career spanning decades as a guest and supporting actor. One of his early gigs was on Falcon Crest in season 9. He played George Beeker from Tuscany Bank, who—due to a secret agreement with Michael—called in the loan for Falcon Crest. Incidentally, his phone call back then interrupted Michael while he was watching Road Runner. Even back then, Richard Riehle wore his trademark – the mustache.

Why ‘Office Space’ Actor Richard Riehle Was the Quintessential Actor’s Actor (Guest Column)

The first time I met Richard Riehle, I was making one of the first things I'd ever made.

variety.com

 

[Bobby Southworth]

I don't know that season 9 really could have been saved. I mean, it could have, but I think that would have to involve keeping actors that had either quit or been let go. Ana-Alicia, and of course Susan Sullivan come to mind. However..season 9 was very much about Richard starting his life over. I don't know that this plot really could have taken place with Maggie still on the show. I have said before, and standby, if Lauren had to be on the show, I think her and Richard should have been platonic. It just seemed too soon after Maggie, and somehow unbelievable. Michael could have still been jealous enough of just their friendship..assumed they were more: he strikes me as the type. LOL.

The way that I remember my personal Falcon Crest experience was that I enjoyed season 7 in real time, but I was pretty young. My mom had finally just exposed me enough to Dallas and Falcon Crest, that I guess, after years of resistance, I began to see the appeal.. It's funny because if any season of Falcon Crest could probably be appealing to a 9-10 year old, season 7 is probably the one, LOL. I recall being bored to tears with the show during season 8, and not liking the feel of the first episode of season 9, but with episode 2..and Charlie beginning to shake the family up, and with what happened to Angela by the end of the episode..I was hooked for the rest of the season.

However, I know many here absolutely detest Charlie. I guess for me, because of the age I was especially, it was crazy to see this guy and his brother be able to have such a grip on the family, and then throw Michael Sharpe into the mix. I will stand by the fact that there was some good writing going on that final year. However, as I later was able to finally view seasons 1-6, I can totally understand why longtime viewers were put off. I think they hoped they could bring in a new audience, and somehow retain some of the earlier fans, but they somehow really managed to accomplish neither.

The biggest problems I see is that they weren't concerned enough with the history of the show. No Cole at Maggie's funeral...No Vickie. No Julia. Was there even a mention of them? To someone that didn't know as much about the earlier show, it works, but if you were really invested in the show for a long time, I can understand.. and now I'm somewhere in between.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

The more that I think about this, I'm not sure that anything could have saved Falcon Crest. I think the era of the prime-time soap was just coming to a close. Quite frankly, the way season 9 somewhat was transitioning the show from a soap into more of a crime based, or more modern show -might have been just about the only hope of it lasting longer, and that failed miserably. As others have said, it was almost more like a season long pilot, but it was still branded under 'Falcon Crest', so..that alone..it wasn't going to reel in new viewers.

I realize Knot's Landing managed to make it longer somehow, but it's one that I am almost entirely unfamiliar with. I think one of the problems with Falcon Crest was that they eliminated too many of the female characters that some possibly felt a connection with, or damaged them too much. Dallas had that same problem..