SoapLand - The Battle Of The Fires & Explosions - The Result

[James from London]

Annabel dies in the Weldon Mill fire. Titus and Claude conspire to burn down the mill not realising that Skipper has arranged to meet Annabel there before they run off together. Skipper arrives to see the place in on fire but the flames are overwhelming and he can't get to rescue her. In the end he just stands helpless at the entrance listening to Annabel's anguished and frightened screams for help. This was probably the most harrowing death in all the 80s prime time soap operas. FLAMINGO ROAD

And to make matters even worse, Titus discovers a few episodes later that the girl who died in the fire he started was his own daughter, the result of an affair he'd had years before with Mavis Anderson from DALLAS.

Jeb Hollister blows up his mountain ridge - THE YELLOW ROSE
To see if it's commercially viable to drill for oil. But the real reason he did it was to sabotage Roy Champion's cattle drive, and if someone would get hurt...or worse...well that's just too bad (or good!).
The chain of explosions results in a rockslide that endangers the lives of the entire cast and cattle.

And to make matters even worse, Jeb realises too late that one of the people caught in the rockslide he started is his own daughter, Mandy Winger from DALLAS.

 

[Jock Og]

1) Southfork in flames: Sue Ellen and John Ross are sleeping, unaware J.R. and Ray are at loggerheads in the living room. Ray blames his brother for the Mickey Trotter incident. The brothers are at it ding dong dust until J.R. accidentally starts a fire; when he throws a candle holder at Ray, instead of hitting him it topples lit candles at the front door. Who survives? Tune in next season to find out. - DALLAS.

2) The springhouse burns to the ground: The springhouse reminded me of a quaint Irish cottage. Julia (the nun with the gun, on the run) has kidnapped Joseph Gioberti but releases him after her mother dearest takes his place. The burying of the hatchet between Julia and Angela ends in tragedy. The two women are trapped inside when a fire takes hold. Rescue attempts are made by Lance, then Chase. Angela does get out, eventually the fire is so extreme that Julia fails to escape. - FALCON CREST.

3) Claudia looses the plot: Claudia is not a happy camper, after being done over by Blake on an oil deal. She is burnt to a crisp after flames engulf her La Mirage room, which she inadvertently caused. The burning rampage rips through the rest of the place. Early in the new season (season 7) we find out Amanda is among the survivors but has got a demeanour and a new face to top things off, in the shape of Karen Cellini. The wonders of fire down Colorado way, eh? - DYNASTY.

4) "It's too late J.R.! It's too late!": Before Angelica Nero was carted away by Harry McSween she detonated a bomb in a briefcase, meant for J.R. A call is put through to Jack, after Angelica's warning. J.R. rushes out of Ewing Oil after hearing an explosion, through Jack's phone. Sue Ellen rushes into Ewing Oil; the camera focuses on J.R.'s office, Angelica's 2nd bomb goes off and bang! Pam's dream is now very very hot. - DALLAS.

5) Ben, Blake and Alexis in peril, on the oil rig: Oil rig workers manage to locate Alexis before the plant is blown to smithereens. A red alert sounds, prior to the offshore rig going up. Will Ben free Blake? - DYNASTY.

 

[Willie Oleson]

And to make matters even worse, Titus discovers a few episodes later that the girl who died in the fire he started was his own daughter, the result of an affair he'd had years before with Mavis Anderson from DALLAS.

From an emotional point of view I'm not sure if I considered this plot twist an improvement on the situation because there already was a special relationship between these characters.
The lovely Annabel - of all characters - was the only person in town who didn't treat Titus as the villain he really was. You could say that the father/daughter bond was already there from the very beginning.
And to make him indirectly responsible for this character's death was shocking and emotional enough for me.

And to make matters even worse, Jeb realises too late that one of the people caught in the rockslide he started is his own daughter, Mandy Winger from DALLAS

That's why I had considered the explosion in TNT Dallas, because Cliff did know his daughter was there. But the Yellow Rose scene looks more spectacular.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Ben, Blake and Alexis in peril, on the oil rig: Oil rig workers manage to locate Alexis before the plant is blown to smithereens

And Alexis, camptastically, channeling Emma Peel in her black leather overalls and high-heeled boots.

 

[tommie]

From the very beginning, before we called it Soap Battle, it was decided (not by me) that we'd only cover the American prime time soaps of the 1980s.
And there were good reason to do it that way:
-it's more fun, more fair and to the point to compare the tv series of the same type and era.
-In order to crown a winner, or in this case a top 5 of winners, we need to limit the options otherwise we'd end up with hundreds of unique votes.

But of course that doesn't mean that these 80s soaps were always the best in everything, and I could think of fires and explosions from other soaps that could have dominated my personal top 5, e.g.
-the bushfire in Sons & Daughters
-CWDynasty's S1 finale
-NuAlexis' head in the fireplace
-the bomb in Number 96
-Hannah Cord setting the Peyton mansion on fire

Not to mention the bomb & fire insanity in Coronation Street

Me right now about your RULES:

Skanky-whore-ish-whores.

 

[Angela Channing]

And to make matters even worse, Titus discovers a few episodes later that the girl who died in the fire he started was his own daughter, the result of an affair he'd had years before with Mavis Anderson from DALLAS.

And to make matters even worse, when Titus found out, he only showed remorse for a nanosecond. Titus was unlike the villains in the other prime time soap, Angela Channing, Alexis Carrington, JR Ewing, etc, in that he never had the redeeming quality of loving his family which made his character all the more fascinating.

 

[Victoriafan3]

1. Sue Ellen blows up very dramatically in Angelica’s brief case. I was quite blown away myself watching that when first aired. Very emotive. Such a shame it was followed up by a dreamy cop out. Sue Ellen in a wheelchair, JR feeling guilty and doting on her, etc would’ve been much better afterwards

2. Jamie dies for the first time in Jacks car by that creepy yet hilarious chewing-gum guy

3. Claudia in La Mirage. Oh dear, those curtains went up faster than a fast thing

4. Outback Eden when Greg tried to attack Stephanie and the curtains catch fire. This is how it was supposed to be done Claudia, you should’ve watched RTE

5. Stephanie and Dan on their tampered-with boat as it exploded nearly losing Dan in RTE

 

[James from London]

that creepy yet hilarious chewing-gum guy

He was one of the highlights of the Dream Season.

 

[Karin Schill]

1. Pam crashes Bobby's car into that truck (Dallas)
This was the moment that got me hooked on Dallas. So it is first on my list because of that.

2. Southfork fire (Dallas)
What really got to me was how JR ran up the stairs to save his son and wife.

3. The cabin on fire with Alexis and Krystle (Dynasty)
I think the Swedish audiences were stuck on this cliffhanger for years since the Swedish TV pulled the show in favor or putting Dallas back on. For some stupid reason they only wanted two soap operas on TV since they considered it trash TV.

4. Falcon Crest burns down. (Falcon Crest)
I didn't like that it killed Melissa but it was dramatic.

5. Claudia accidentally sets La Mirage on fire (Dynasty)
Really horrible fire too.

 

[Karin Schill]

damn Kelly Taylor

You know this was such a scary moment when I originally watched it. If it wasn't because it was a soap from the 1990s it would have made my list!

 

[Willie Oleson]

What really got to me was how JR ran up the stairs to save his son and wife

Even if you'd rule out parental instinct - something that even the most villainous villains have - John Ross and Sue Ellen belonged to him.
Regardless of how he felt about them or how he treated them, no one or nothing was going to take them away from him.
I'd be very surprised if he hadn't tried to save them.
And eventhough it was JR who accidentally started the fire, it was Ray who allowed it to spread. I think all Dallas fans should totally hate him for that.

 

[Angela Channing]

From the very beginning, before we called it Soap Battle, it was decided (not by me) that we'd only cover the American prime time soaps of the 1980s.
And there were good reason to do it that way:
-it's more fun, more fair and to the point to compare the tv series of the same type and era.
-In order to crown a winner, or in this case a top 5 of winners, we need to limit the options otherwise we'd end up with hundreds of unique votes.

But of course that doesn't mean that these 80s soaps were always the best in everything, and I could think of fires and explosions from other soaps that could have dominated my personal top 5, e.g.
-the bushfire in Sons & Daughters
-CWDynasty's S1 finale
-NuAlexis' head in the fireplace
-the bomb in Number 96
-Hannah Cord setting the Peyton mansion on fire

Not to mention the bomb & fire insanity in Coronation Street

It makes total sense because if a larger number of soaps were included the votes would be spread too thinly and the potential for many inconclusive results where everyone's number one choice would be tied for first place.

 

[Toni]

1- Kidnapped "Val´s" car explosion (Knots Landing Season 14)
2- Trouble at Ewing 12 (not 23!!) (aka the explosion that came to stay until the end of the show, and beyond!) (Dallas Season 9)
3- Celeste Holm tries to send Wyman to hell, almost literally (Falcon Crest Season 5)
4- Angelica Nero blows up Ewing Oil and Swellin in Pam´s dream (Dallas Season 8)
5- Wife nº 1 & Wife nº 2 almost get roasted in the name of That Steven who used to be gay (Dynasty Season 3)

(Dis)honorable mentions:
Let´s burn that beech of an actress (Pam on Dallas, Melissa on FC, Claudia on Dynasty)

Moi, fired? And in a fire? Mais pourquoi?!​

 

[Jimmy Todd]

1. Southfork on fire. Everything built up to the fight between JR and Ray masterfully. Nothing felt forced or contrived. JR is alone downstairs after a vicious confrontation with Sue Ellen and Ray comes in as poor Mickey"s avenging angel. JR wins by fighting dirty, and the last scene is him running deeper into the house calling, "John Ross! Sue Ellen!" The immoral, villainous Ewing is now risking his life for his family, not running for the nearest exit. Perfect finale for my favorite season that exposed the bad in the heroes and the good in the villain. Dallas

2. Krystle and Alexis trapped in a burning cabin. This finale aired in the same year as the above mentioned Dallas inferno, yet it was the opposite in that it was completely contrived, came pretty much out of left field, and had plot holes Fallon could drive her Clenet through. Yet, I still love it(just nowhere near as much as the fire over in Texas). Linda Evans and Collins are still so great together that even the kind of soapy dialogue doesn't dampen their sparks. It also has one of my favorite Alexis lines, "This is all your fault! Every time you come into my life something terrible happens!" Joan utters it in such a way that it shows Alexis really believes that, which conveys how she views herself and the world. Mow we understand how such a woman can do the things she does and still sleep at night. The music and the cutting between the dialogue and mysterious figure pouring and lighting the gasoline add to the flammable fun. Oh, and that fire above Krystle as she holds an unconscious Mrs. Colby looked seriously intense. Dynasty

3. Alexis lights a cigarette in her first scene with Krystle. The two here are sublime, and the way Alexis lights it so casually after being slapped down with just a look from Krystle shows how quick she is to regain her composure. Alexis is tough and will be a formidable opponent for the lady of the manor. All conveyed by simply lighting, smoking, and pausing at the right moments with her European cigarettes. Dynasty.

4. Mary Robison walks into her apartment and finds Greg there, smoking a cigar. This little scene was perfectly placed at the end of the episode, and I loved how calm, cool, collected Greg said, "Mar, we gotta talk" as he lights one of his stogies. It added the right amount of urgency to the plot of Mary trying to take Meg from Mack and Karen. It was also nice that Laura may have been gone, but her legacy still hangs over those she left behind. Knots Landing

5. Valene watches as Laura lets a man light her cigarette in last scene of "The Lie." Everything is conveyed through the looks they give each other: Laura's infidelity, the serial rapist cover-up story, the unhappy Avery marriage, and Val knowing about it. This is also a reference to Laura's cigarette being lit by that artist she met in the bar earlier in the episode. Knots knows how to do scenes without dialogue so well, and these two actresses are excellent in that area. I wish Knots had done an entire episode without dialogue. Seriously, just once. Knots Landing.

I'm going to save my last three for a smoking list. Although, one could argue that Linda Evans and Joan Collins had such great chemistry in the second and third seasons they basically exploded off the screen!
3. The writers blew up Pam. The somewhat vague and implausible resolution in the following season was terrible, but those final few moments were exciting. The cliffhanger did its job in that it kept me wondering how Pam could survive that. I didn't realize the writers had no idea either.Dallas.

4. Gary blows up Empire Valley. It's not something any viewer would expect when watching the first two seasons, but still it was so...Gary. Knots Landing.

4. Jaime is blown up in her car. This was more impactful th as n Sue Sue Ellen being blown uo in JR'S office one scene later because I knew nothing would really happen to the first Mrs. Ewing. However, poor Jaime's fate was up in the air. A lot of people didn't like the character, but I had a soft spot for her. Dallas

 

[Mel O'Drama]

1. Greg burns the house he built for Meg
Knots Landing
Such a poignant scene. Unlike most soap fires it was all about character and emotion.




2. Karen and Phil’s Slow Burn
Knots Landing
This entire episode combined the thriller and disaster genres. And threw in a bit of horror for good measure.




3. Gary blows up Empire Valley
Knots Landing
If the Milk Tray man had too much caffeine, this is what we would have got.




4. The Cabin Fire
Dynasty
That chilling scream from Linda Evans.




5. Ewing Inferno
Dallas
That iconic image of Southfork ablaze marked the very beginning of my devouring Dallas as a regular viewer when Season Six was repeated in the summer months of 1984.






Special mention to...

The car bomb that blinded Blake
Dynasty
Because it looked like something Wile E. Coyote would buy from Acme.

 

[Willie Oleson]

This was more impactful th as n Sue Sue Ellen being blown uo in JR'S office one scene later because I knew nothing would really happen to the first Mrs. Ewing

Seems logical, but where I live we used to be pretty spoiler-free. Some information was available but you really had to search for it in certain magazines, and even then it was usually nothing but a short mention of something.
I think it was my first Dallas big-gasp! moment, and I don't remember that I knew that nothing would happen to Sue Ellen. Also, this was Dallas' 8th/9th season, and something terrible did happen to the other leading Dallas lady in the next season.

 

[Jessie]

My choices

1. -Fire at Southfork where Sue Ellen and John Ross are upstairs asleep.

2. Ewing Oil Explosion when Sue Ellen went into JR’s Office

3. Pam’s Car explosion

4. Knots Landing when Gary blows up Empire Valley

Dynasty -The cabin fire

Dynasty-Claudia sets la Mirage on fire by accident.

 

[Gioberti84]

1 - Southfork on fire
2 - Dynasty's cabin fire
3 - The burning springhouse in FC
4 - Pam's car explosion
5 - Gary blows up Empire Valley

 

[Willie Oleson]

I see that Richard hasn't made his list yet so I'll wait a few more days before I post the top 5 result of our choices.

 

[Richard Channing]

I see that Richard hasn't made his list yet so I'll wait a few more days before I post the top 5 result of our choices.

Thanks Willie. Have had wifi issues at my new apartment but it's all sorted now.