Season 8

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

This season has always fascinated me, not because of it being an improvement on previous years (though it was more consistent than seasons 6 & 7) but for the fact that we basically got abandoned plots from season 6 & 7 rehashed and changed around for season 8, except the season was so dry and flavourless, also that S8 should have been the reset season, if S6 was to have been its peak (which in many ways it was) then S8 should have been the season where the game changed.

I did like some ideas like Steven being ruthless while Adam was being more of the good brother this season with Fallon even siding with Adam at times.

Leslie was simply the latest in a long line of Fallon replacements, which by season 8 was unnecessary as Fallon was back albeit with Emma Samms, she replaced Amanda mk2 and would soon be replaced briefly by Virginia Methany - Krystle’s cousin.

Sean Rowan should never have even been a character, his role could have been filled by either Matthew Blaisdel or Nick Toscanni

Dana was most definitely the bright spark in this season and by far the best addition to the cast in years by that point, she really grew in S8, she was neither a Kirby stand in nor a Claudia replacement she was her own character.

Storyline’s that should have happened in S8, Matthew or Nick marrying Alexis and he runs for governor while Krystle is the opposition.

I’d still have Blake hand over control of DC to his children, including Amanda, having Steven show his ruthless side, causing Fallon and Amanda to side with Adam.

Leslie would have been a stalker for Alexis.

Kirby would have come back with Adam’s baby, Adam is loyal to Dana but wants to get to know his son

You are aware of one thing of Dynasty S8 and I think you can say this for both Dallas and Falcons Crest, not so much Knots, but by Autumn 1987, the party was over and the hungover for the 80s began.

Dynasty feels fatigued when really it should have bracing for a new era, one could argue had David Paulsen took the helm in 1987 rather than 1988 we would have gotten Dynasty as far as 1991

I know there was talks of Dominique returning for guest stints in season 8 as well as guest stints from Sable, Monica and Miles from the Colby’s, one wonders how this would have shaped Dynasty for the remainder of its run.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

For all its flaws, and sleepy actors, Season 8 actually had plotlines the show followed through on. And there was far less of the usual passive-aggressive bullshit in the dialogue. There was a story, however middling, the show (and its crop of new writers) wanted to tell. All helped by the relaxation of S.A.D. and the reduction of the excessive music scores.

I'd say fall of 1985 was the end of the party for the nighttime soap genre. Kerthump... By fall 1987, the desiccation was fully under way. (Except for KNOTS, and Season 10 of DALLAS, and Season 9 of DYNASTY).

In retrospect, Dana turned insane by Season 8. Just nuts. Which I had forgotten until I saw the year for the first time in ages a few months ago.

I have some radical ideas for Season 8: a multi-episode Christmas blizzard story arc (to save money for Aaron) with much of the cast snowed in at the mansion (as opposed to "The Siege"), and Blake's vengeful ex-fiancée (whom Alexis shoved out of the way as teenagers) -- now a political operator -- who attempts to help Blake in his pursuit of the governor's office, and Krystle's headaches turning her clairvoyant healer.

Seriously.

Also, Steven becomes concerned that he might be H.I.V. positive when his lawyer, Chris Deegan, is revealed to be dying of A.I.D.S.

Should be heavy on the atmosphere for Season 8.

 

[Monzo]

Season 8 is the season where, for me, the difference between the original premiere and rewatch is greatest. I didn't like season 8 much when it first aired, and I was appalled by what had become of Dynasty. However, on rewatch, I find season 8 to be well-constructed (with the exception of the aftermath of Fallon's UFO experience). I appreciate that there's no longer the same pressure as in season 6B and season 7, where you constantly felt like this or that plot had to be exciting. In season 8, it seemed as if Dynasty had finally realized that the momentum was over and was now offering more manageable, season-long plots, hoping that this would be enough to get renewed.

As for the characters, I think Leslie developed well in season 8, and I would have liked to see her as Sable's assistant in season 9 instead of Joanna.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

I quite liked Joanna in season 9 she was a throwback to Tracy Kendall, but yes having Leslie work for Sable in S9 would have been great, the producers intended for Leslie to be part of season 9 but Terri Garber decided to leave after two years but always regretted not staying on as she didn’t know at the time it would be the final season and her character, along with many others was erased in the Reunion in 1991.

 

[xab]

Season 8 was well structured, yes, and for once, they had a clear vision. The Alexis/Blake feud was back. But it didn’t go far enough (except for Adam’s storyline). Everything fell flat… Krystle digging into Alexis’s past led nowhere. Leslie was just another slut who was quickly taken down by Alexis. Josh’s overdose was pointless. Sean was cartoonish and laughable, certainly not dangerous. He should have been much more twisted (Adam used to be worse in his own way). It lacked energy in the writing, directing, and acting. Everything that would return in Season 9.

 

[Colterton]

Season 8 was meant to be the big re-set.
The change of time slot to 10pm on Wednesday in the U.S. was meant to take some of the pressure off the ratings from the previous season, and network execs hoping it would win its time slot more easily.
Coupled with new staff - Shelley Hull and Ursula Alexander were brought over as Co Producer and Associate Producer from the The Colbys following its cancellation.
There was a concerted focus on younger members of the cast - the famous cast photo without the big three (John, Linda and Joan) was a marker for audiences in how they were hoping the show would evolve.
However the pace and tone just didn’t have the same fizz or excitement as Season 2 which they were trying to emulate.
Many have commented on how the music score this year was toned down - yes - but I n occasion it sounded like half an orchestra and cheap compared to the swelling scoring of previous years which did add more occasion and tone to the drama portrayed on screen.
Concerted efforts were obviously made with location shooting for scenes and in the latter half of the season, visual references to the colder Colorado climate and sense of place firmly noticeable. One scene had Krystle entering the mansion before going to see Dana upstairs and discuss the crib, and mentioning to Janette how cold it was outside as she wore a large fur coat.
The stories were more consistent with a clear season arc in place, and on paper had the potential to play out well on screen as a premise.
Sadly the detail lacked ambition and looked a bit cheap with the new Encore Video editing system deployed.
I still enjoy Season 8 more than 7B, but can’t help feeling cheated that the huge potential of what we were promised, didn’t quite play out in the detail we were presented.
But then - we did have the brilliant Season 9 to follow …..

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

Season 8 was meant to be the big re-set.
The change of time slot to 10pm on Wednesday in the U.S. was meant to take some of the pressure off the ratings from the previous season, and network execs hoping it would win its time slot more easily.
Coupled with new staff - Shelley Hull and Ursula Alexander were brought over as Co Producer and Associate Producer from the The Colbys following its cancellation.
There was a concerted focus on younger members of the cast - the famous cast photo without the big three (John, Linda and Joan) was a marker for audiences in how they were hoping the show would evolve.
However the pace and tone just didn’t have the same fizz or excitement as Season 2 which they were trying to emulate.
Many have commented on how the music score this year was toned down - yes - but I n occasion it sounded like half an orchestra and cheap compared to the swelling scoring of previous years which did add more occasion and tone to the drama portrayed on screen.
Concerted efforts were obviously made with location shooting for scenes and in the latter half of the season, visual references to the colder Colorado climate and sense of place firmly noticeable. One scene had Krystle entering the mansion before going to see Dana upstairs and discuss the crib, and mentioning to Janette how cold it was outside as she wore a large fur coat.
The stories were more consistent with a clear season arc in place, and on paper had the potential to play out well on screen as a premise.
Sadly the detail lacked ambition and looked a bit cheap with the new Encore Video editing system deployed.
I still enjoy Season 8 more than 7B, but can’t help feeling cheated that the huge potential of what we were promised, didn’t quite play out in the detail we were presented.
But then - we did have the brilliant Season 9 to follow …..

Yes looking at the lead up to Season 8 you could tell they wanted to move the focus away from the big 3 and more onto the younger generation, it seems that the show was gearing up for the 1990s, it sort of fell flat but S8 was by far better than S7b which was a down grade from S6b and S7a.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Moving the focus "to the younger characters" is an old trope, and it rarely works. (CBS demanded DALLAS do the same for S13, and, as per usual, it failed miserably).

The misperception that DYNASTY had overdone the Krystle/Alexis/Blake triangle (something sometimes reiterated even by fans even today) came from the constant sense that this was the core of the show -- only the writers never really treated it that way after Season 2.. You were always waiting for something to happen there which rarely ever did).

In fact, they actually underplayed this angle, largely because they lost interest in Krystle, turning her into a passive, reactive character. (As a result, many viewers now describe Krystle as the character they hated the most -- and that's just something that should never have happened).

But the fans and the press understood what DYNASTY could/should be in a way the producers didn't.

About Season 8, Esther said, "That was then, this is now," contrasting DYNASTY with a new project they were involved in (the Suzanne Pleshette hospital slutty nurse show?). Shapiro later asserted that if she could do DYNASTY over again, she'd focus more on the younger characters in the later seasons -- apparently unaware that they did). Diahann Carroll later observed that this shift in focus helped kill DYNASTY.

As I say, the negligence by the usual suspects helped Season 8.

 

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

Moving the focus "to the younger characters" is an old trope, and it rarely works. (CBS demanded DALLAS do the same for S13, and, as per usual, it failed miserably).

The misperception that DYNASTY had overdone the Krystle/Alexis/Blake triangle (something sometimes reiterated even by fans even today) came from the constant sense that this was the core of the show -- only the writers never really treated it that way after Season 2.. You were always waiting for something to happen there which rarely ever did).

In fact, they actually underplayed this angle, largely because they lost interest in Krystle, turning her into a passive, reactive character. (As a result, many viewers now describe Krystle as the character they hated the most -- and that's just something that should never have happened).

But the fans and the press understood what DYNASTY could/should be in a way the producers didn't.

About Season 8, Esther said, "That was then, this is now," contrasting DYNASTY with a new project they were involved in (the Suzanne Pleshette hospital slutty nurse show?). Shapiro later asserted that if she could do DYNASTY over again, she'd focus more on the younger characters in the later seasons -- apparently unaware that they did). Diahann Carroll later observed that this shift in focus helped kill DYNASTY.

As I say, the negligence by the usual suspects helped Season 8.

They were very nearly successful in shifting the focus on younger characters, by flipping the script where Steven was ruthless instead of Adam for example but they needed to do more

Krystle was put into a corner from the time she left the attic in mid S6 to her departure in early S9, and it became a duo between Blake and Alexis.

Ive often speculated that the producers were sorry they ever created Krystle, it’s funny that the characters that suffered the most with the writing in the series: Krystle, Steven and Claudia were beyond bastardised by the middle years of the show, yet those three characters were the audience’s eyes into this Carrington kingdom, without them you lose the audience.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Ive often speculated that the producers were sorry they ever created Krystle

Probably. The audience loved early-Krystle (something the writing and S.A.D. destroyed pretty quickly) but even the producers admitted in 1985 -- just as Season 6 was starting up -- that the character who frustrated them the most was Krystle because they didn't know what to do with her.

And that should never have happened. I can't imagine letting that happened to her.

But it's because Krystle was nice. A lead character who was nice. And many writers have no idea how to write for a character who's nice -- other than have them get raped and, on occasion, replaced by evil twins.

Linda eventually went to the writers (I'm guessing, Eillen Pollock) with ideas to allow Krystle to become more vital and pro-active, but that was met with "but that just isn't Krystle..." responses. So they just continued to throw slop at her in the scripts, keeping Krystle in the same box Blake wanted her. Thus, Krystle became so artificial, the viewers really turned on her (made worse by S.A.D., perhaps the worst creative choice of many the series ever adopted). Because there's nothing the public hates more than a "nice" character who is merely a superficial poseur. (Okay, okay, some hate the real nice ones even more, but that's another issue).

Eileen "Mike" Pollock was rather open about her contempt for both Krystle and Linda. And it came out in the dialogue. When Alexis calls Krystle "boring" and says Krystle is only beautiful "when she smiles," or when Senator McVane inexplicably calls Krystle "arrogant" twice in Season 8, one suspects Pollock's true view of the actress and the character is leaking all over the pages of the script... Yes, these characters might insult Krystle in that fashion, but it smells more like contempt coming from off camera.

And even with new writers for Season 8, who stole Krystle's thunder as she started to go after Alexis' complicity in Cecil's death?? I, myself, suspect the seasoned hand of sabotage from more supervisory producers. (Mike?).

For all of Alexis' bravura and outrageousness, Krystle was at the heart of DYNASTY. And if you've lost interest in Krystle -- let alone completely -- then you've lost interest in DYNASTY as producers. When she becomes an inconvenience to write for, you've completely lost your way.

And they had.

All one has to do is, say, rewatch the 3-hour pilot, quietly majestic, or any of the crackling face-offs between Krystle and Alexis during Season 2, and then contrast that with what would happen later with Krystle, the scenes and pointless goody-goody words they'd toss her.

It's shocking, really. And why it was such a relief when Paulsen, in the first episode of Season 9, finally even acknowledge the shift in Krystle (i.e.,.e.g.?, "for years, she hasn't been herself...")

later, an endless slew of scenes like this, acted like this:

I looked for the Season 8 scene with Blake telling Krystle to back off on her investigation into Cecil's death, but I couldn't find it.