The battle of the Fallons

who was the best Fallon


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Richard Channing

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PSM, without a doubt.
 

ClassyCo

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Although I personally believe Emma Samms was the more attractive Fallon, I am on board that Pamela Sue Martin was the better Fallon overall.

I think both were good actresses, but with different strengths. Martin played Fallon as a stronger, more devious individual. That I liked. She wasn't too keen on her stepmother, she wasn't always on speaking terms with her mother, and I liked how she could be independent. On the other hand, Samms played as more of confused victim. She came in during Fallon's amnesiac "Randall" phase, and from I gather, she never regained her strength, nor did she ever again have a "true" personality. Let the record show that I have only seen a little of Samms' portrayal of Fallon.
 

Zable

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If comparing Fallons just on Dynasty, then PSM's Fallon was the better fit for its mould.
ES's Fallon was written for The Colbys, a series created to fill a unique niche of markets which Dynasty hadn't been able to tap, or had lost traction in, for a variety of reasons. TC's writers deliberately wrote its characters as people different from their Dynasty counterparts, living in a subtly altered reality on a separate timeline with some seemingly shared storylines. On TC, there's no one to compare ES's Fallon with.
 

ClassyCo

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If comparing Fallons just on Dynasty, then PSM's Fallon was the better fit for its mould.
ES's Fallon was written for The Colbys, a series created to fill a unique niche of markets which Dynasty hadn't been able to tap, or had lost traction in, for a variety of reasons. TC's writers deliberately wrote its characters as people different from their Dynasty counterparts, living in a subtly altered reality on a separate timeline with some seemingly shared storylines. On TC, there's no one to compare ES's Fallon with.
Having only seen an episode or two of The Colbys, I couldn't tell you a whole lot about Emma Samms portrayal of Fallon, but from what I saw of her on Dynasty, she wasn't playing the same Fallon. The character had certainly been altered. I was said that was because of Samms' strengths were in different acting departments than Pamela Sue Martin's. Making any sense?
 

Zable

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Re acting strengths comparison, I can't judge. I've never seen ES in anything else, and I'd only seen PSM in Nancy Drew, before Dynasty. I haven't watched either soap show in a long time, and I'd have to watch PSM and ES back-to-back to know. I believe their personalities did impact their portrayal of Fallon. ....ES's portrayal of Fallon in DS9 is markedly different from her portrayal of Fallon between DS6-7 (brief guest appearances) and DS8 (full-time). Her earlier Dynasty Fallon was similar to her TC Fallon, but a contrast to PSM's Fallon. In DS9 she was sounding, looking & behaving a little more like PSM's Fallon.

I believe that DS9 E.P David Paulsen had found humour in a line from TC, in a scene between Jason and Miles, and brought it to life in another world with a twist. Jason had said to Miles words to the effect: "My God, what do you want to see happen here? Jeff go away and Fallon turned back into Randall?" In DS9, it was Miles who was absent from the scene, and ES was a lot more like PSM. I see many happenings on DS9 lifted from TC and given a twist.

I've also not had anyone who's watched The Colbys back me up when I've said the series existed on a different timeline than Dynasty, with different natured characters, family history and stories which appear shared with Dynasty but in reality contain crucial differences. Part of the problem is people don't take in the details, especially in the parts of TC that bore them. They tune out or skip them.

The collective consensus seems to be that the producers, writers were not doing their jobs, did not care about continuity. To me, they were writing to differentiate, not dovetail their stories. I actually wish viewers would not watch TC alongside Dynasty S6-7.

Hence why, when Dynasty had the opportunity to add the TC characters to its Colby saga, it chose not to have Jason explain to Jeff that (the late) Cecil had lied to Jeff about J being the last of the Colbys for whatever the reason, say a family feud. Instead, Dynasty rewrote its Colby saga so that Cecil and Jeff both had known they had living kin in LAand Jeff had last visited them 11 years ago. Watch TC closely, pay attention to how characters think, business story details, when/where things happen, etc and you might see where the differences lie with Dynasty.

I consider TC to be a standalone series. Certainly David Paulsen was not the developer of this series. Essentially, The Reunion undid his Colby rewrite, and more.
 

Willie Oleson

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TC's writers deliberately wrote its characters as people different from their Dynasty counterparts, living in a subtly altered reality on a separate timeline with some seemingly shared storylines. On TC, there's no one to compare ES's Fallon with.
Oh gosh, I so want to believe that. But the original Fallon had mellowed a lot (read: too much!) in her last season on Dynasty.
It's not like she went from Dynasty-bitch to The Colbys-victim.
PSM, though Emma was smoking hot...
Yeah, she looked like a brown-haired Samantha Fox.
 

Zable

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TC's writers deliberately wrote its characters as people different from their Dynasty counterparts, living in a subtly altered reality on a separate timeline with some seemingly shared storylines.

Oh gosh, I so want to believe that. But the original Fallon had mellowed a lot (read: too much!) in her last season on Dynasty. It's not like she went from Dynasty-bitch to The Colbys-victim.

To clarify, I meant to say that the same characters were written as different people on each show. But the differences were generally subtle. Outwardly, they weren't wildly different. You’d have to look at how they thought for starters. The LA Colbys were intended to be shown more ‘wholesome’ than the Carringtons . TC could afford to keep the deliciously crazed, shocking Sable around to pull in American and Central European viewers because she was just the one oddity in that duller, plainer, more family-oriented lot. (The original plan was to have Sable around for only 6 mths.) She may have been perceived as the family's Alexis, but she wasn't playing Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter.

One reason why Dynasty soon lost traction in culturally sensitive male-centric countries with soft-spoken demure women was the way Alexis and Fallon were depicted. Was Dynasty trying to address that issue in having mellow Fallon? Maybe, but it couldn’t have been the only reason because that segment was a mere slice of the total viewers that Dynasty had. PSM herself was not comfortable with Fallon’s bitch image, and she was eyeing a career on the big screen. She didn’t want to be type-cast. So ES may not have behaved startlingly different from the get-go from how PSM’s Fallon had ended up becoming, but I think TC’s Fallon was still a markedly different woman, and not just looks-wise.
 

Willie Oleson

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but I think TC’s Fallon was still a markedly different woman, and not just looks-wise.
I don't totally disagree with that.
But maybe that wasn't the biggest problem. What I disliked the most was her habit of running away from conflicts (going upstairs, leaving the party etc).
Then you end up with non-drama, basically.
 

Zable

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I don't get what you mean by problem.
Was TC Fallon's habit of running away from conflicts markedly different from ole Fallon's, or not?
Does life have to be always drama, though? With hindsight, wasn't TC's Fallon being written as someone going to pieces inwardly? Does someone fighting inner demons want conflict in her outer world?
 

Willie Oleson

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I don't get what you mean by problem.
Because it sabotaged what could have been an explosive scene. Especially the ski lodge episode had so much more potential.
Was TC Fallon's habit of running away from conflicts markedly different from ole Fallon's, or not?
Yes, if running away means having sex with a man who isn't her husband. Of course there's the infamous S4 cliffhanger...
With hindsight, wasn't TC's Fallon being written as someone going to pieces inwardly? Does someone fighting inner demons want conflict in her outer world?
Funny, I always thought it was Francesca who was fighting inner demons. Fallon just wanted to do it "her own way" - and then do nothing.
 
K

Karin Schill

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I ended up voting for Emma. Might be because I have just watched "The Colbys" and also the last season of Dynasty again.

In a way I think both Fallon's were different and I think why most people think PSM was best in the role was because she was Fallon first and made it her own. I imagine if we had seen Emma's Fallon first we probably would have thought she was better in the role. So it's all a question of what we are used to really.
 

Ked

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I voted for Pamela, but a part of me will always balk at the thought of her replacing Emma in season 9, because Emma was way too gosh darn adorable and sexy that season. In fact, now that I think about it, there was a strong "90s" vibe about Emma during that season that I'm not sure Pamela could have pulled off. Though she probably could have, I don't know.

Either way, my first choice is Pamela because there always that extra bit of sinister b*tchiness about her that Emma lacked. But there will always be a special place in my heart for Emma. X)
 

Matthew Blaisdel

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My favourit Fallon will always be Emma Samms, as she was the first Fallon i fell in love with, she was the first Fallon i knew.
And i'm so glad that Paulson could not get Pamela Sue back for S9, for several reasons.
First it would have been a little confusing for me, as i only knew Emma as Fallon, and 2nd everyone today would say "Emma could not play the witty Fallon", which is completly wrong, as we saw in S9. It was all just because of the writing.
And the worst Fallon for me was PSM in Season 4. Okay, the actress was sick, but i didn't like the character anymore at all, such a bore.
Even liked Emma's amnesia story at her beginning more than PSM's last year. All that Peter de Vilbis and wheelchair-crap, UGH! :re:
 
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