What Ifs That Would Change Knots

Ray_Krebbs

Ray_Krebbs

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What if Sid never died? Would he and Karen have lasted 14 seasons?

What if Gary and Val never broke up in the 3rd/4th season? Would Gary have ever had an affair with Abby, or would he and Val have worked through it?

What becomes of Mack of Sid never died? Perhaps he could have been an attorney Abby hires to help against Jeff for custody of Olivia and Brian, and those two wind up together.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and what ifs of your own?
 
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Daniel Avery

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I think Sid would have been the toughest "fit" for the post-S4 era. The Wards were written out even though it would have been easier to mold them into useful characters in the "everybody's getting rich!" era than it would have been for Richard and especially Sid. Laura was successfully molded into a useful part of this new era without losing her essential characterization, IMO, but a successful "richer" Richard might have been even more of a disaster than loser Richard. But Sid represented the very things his sister Abby seemed to hate (at least with respect to wealth accrual). In a way, Sid had to die in order to remove the one major impediment to Abby's rise to power and wealth, since his approval did mean something to her. Had Don Murray opted to stay, Sid and Abby would have had a serious falling-out over all the underhanded things she did to gain access to Gary's money and her involvement with the Wolfbridge mobsters. I think he would have been more ashamed of how she broke up Val and Gary since he would have been forced to see Val around the cul-de-sac all the time and be reminded of his sister's actions. Sid not being around to cramp Abby's style allowed her to run loose with no moral tether.

If Sid had remained and they still wanted to create a Mack-like character, he could have been Val's new love interest as long as Val could get used to all the yelling. He'd still be investigating Wolfbridge and be in proximity to all the important characters, but unlike doormat Ben I don't picture him tolerating the unresolved feelings between Val and Gary. I think they would drift apart, probably after three seasons, and he'd be paired with someone else or just leave town. KD and JVA always had really interesting chemistry onscreen and it would have been fun to see it used differently than what we got.
 
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Stillwitty

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Ray_Krebbs said:
What if Sid never died? Would he and Karen have lasted 14 seasons?

What if Gary and Val never broke up in the 3rd/4th season? Would Gary have ever had an affair with Abby, or would he and Val have worked through it?

What becomes of Mack of Sid never died? Perhaps he could have been an attorney Abby hires to help against Jeff for custody of Olivia and Brian, and those two wind up together.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and what ifs of your own?
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If Sid hadn't died, he and Karen probably would have made it to the finish line, being the stable couple and all. However....If Mack had come on as Abby's stud, the minute he and Karen were in the same room together, there would have been fireworks - their chemistry was undeniable. Which could have created some great story lines: Conflict for Karen and Sid, Abby and Sid and incredibly passionate making up for Mack and Abby. Of course, she'd eventually cheat on Mack and he'd come after Karen - or Ginger if she was still around...

Daniel Avery said:
I think Sid would have been the toughest "fit" for the post-S4 era. The Wards were written out even though it would have been easier to mold them into useful characters in the "everybody's getting rich!" era than it would have been for Richard and especially Sid. Laura was successfully molded into a useful part of this new era without losing her essential characterization, IMO, but a successful "richer" Richard might have been even more of a disaster than loser Richard. But Sid represented the very things his sister Abby seemed to hate (at least with respect to wealth accrual). In a way, Sid had to die in order to remove the one major impediment to Abby's rise to power and wealth, since his approval did mean something to her. Had Don Murray opted to stay, Sid and Abby would have had a serious falling-out over all the underhanded things she did to gain access to Gary's money and her involvement with the Wolfbridge mobsters. I think he would have been more ashamed of how she broke up Val and Gary since he would have been forced to see Val around the cul-de-sac all the time and be reminded of his sister's actions. Sid not being around to cramp Abby's style allowed her to run loose with no moral tether.

If Sid had remained and they still wanted to create a Mack-like character, he could have been Val's new love interest as long as Val could get used to all the yelling. He'd still be investigating Wolfbridge and be in proximity to all the important characters, but unlike doormat Ben I don't picture him tolerating the unresolved feelings between Val and Gary. I think they would drift apart, probably after three seasons, and he'd be paired with someone else or just leave town. KD and JVA always had really interesting chemistry onscreen and it would have been fun to see it used differently than what we got.
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KD and JVA's chemistry was undeniable, but platonic. He'd have been fire with Abby, but a quick burnout. With Karen, it was a perpetual smolder that lasted for, well, the past 40+ years...
 
Monzo

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What if Lisa Hartman hadn't returned?

In its early seasons, Knots Landing was the least daytime of all big primetime soaps, but the idea of having an actress appear in a different role—not as a twin sister, but merely as a doppelgänger—was risky, because it is very daytime. What if the writers had decided that Lisa Hartman as Cathy would do more harm than good and scrapped the idea? Would that have had a major impact on the show?

Chip's death would certainly have been different, and Gary and Abby's first marital crisis would have unfolded differently, but how would Joshua's story have developed, if he had appeared at all? Perhaps Ginger would have returned to Knots Landing after her marriage failed and taken on the role of Joshua's singing girlfriend/wife, but how would Valene and Ben's marriage have ended?
 
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Monzo said:
What if Lisa Hartman hadn't returned?

In its early seasons, Knots Landing was the least daytime of all big primetime soaps, but the idea of having an actress appear in a different role—not as a twin sister, but merely as a doppelgänger—was risky, because it is very daytime. What if the writers had decided that Lisa Hartman as Cathy would do more harm than good and scrapped the idea? Would that have had a major impact on the show?

Chip's death would certainly have been different, and Gary and Abby's first marital crisis would have unfolded differently, but how would Joshua's story have developed, if he had appeared at all? Perhaps Ginger would have returned to Knots Landing after her marriage failed and taken on the role of Joshua's singing girlfriend/wife, but how would Valene and Ben's marriage have ended? Ben was always destined to head to South America to find/kill Jean Hackney: Otherwise, all his Spanish Duolingo classes would have been a waste...
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Daniel Avery

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What if the arsenic leak at Lotus Point/Empire Valley had been more deadly than it was? We saw Eric Fairgate get seriously ill and heard that an offscreen employee (Charlie Lee) died from arsenic poisoning. That death was what compelled Karen to overrule Abby and close the place down in the final episodes of S7. What if the writers had decided to use this as a season-ending cliffhanger that would allow them to cull a few cast members and set up some S8 plotlines? I can see the cameras lingering on all the main characters gulping down large glasses of water in every scene, the kids in the swimming pool, and irrigation sprinklers spraying poison all over everything......
 
Toni

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Ray_Krebbs said:
What if Sid never died? Would he and Karen have lasted 14 seasons?

What if Gary and Val never broke up in the 3rd/4th season? Would Gary have ever had an affair with Abby, or would he and Val have worked through it?

What becomes of Mack of Sid never died? Perhaps he could have been an attorney Abby hires to help against Jeff for custody of Olivia and Brian, and those two wind up together.

What are your thoughts, ideas, and what ifs of your own?
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I have a bad feeling about this... (yes, I´m a Warsie...too) and it´s that, in case Don had stayed on, the show would have been canceled. Lorimar and CBS had Falcon Crest by then, with a stronger cast and considerable originality, and Flamingo had just started, with glossy Fairchild as the main lead. It wouldn´t have been a surprise (to me) if they had axed Knots. Maybe with Abby and Gary hitting the road back to Dallas?

Let´s be honest: some of Season 3´s self-contained episodes were rather atrocious, and some of the subplots, not interesting at all. It was the creativity injection they put it in Season 4 what gave life to the show for 10 more years. Bitchier Abby, stronger Val, Karen meeting the right man for her in Mack, someone to hate to the max (Diana!), etc. That was the reason the show went to stratosphere for audience and critics after that. Just my 2 cents.
 
Daniel Avery

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What if, instead of that insulting "brain virus" storyline for Val, they had taken a page from daytime soaps and given her a REAL disease/health issue? I'm thinking a recurrence of cancer, something that allows them to draw on the earlier "Loudest Word" episode in flashbacks. JvA would have done a great job with it.
 
Monzo

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Jimmy Todd said:
What if Abby had stayed a few more seasons?
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I wonder what would have happened to Olivia. Would she have been written out anyway because of budget cuts or would she have on the show as long as Donna Mills was there? I could imagine Olivia dying in a season finale to create a lot of drama, because Abby's grief over her death would have sustained the show for a long time. Especially if someone important to the show, maybe Paige, had accidentally killed Olivia.

What if Jock Ewing hadn't died? I always had the feeling that only because Gary became rich did they also made other characters rich, or introduced rich characters, as a kind of counterbalance to Gary's newfound wealth. If Jock had simply remained missing forever, would no one in Knots Landing have become rich?
 
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Toni said:
I have a bad feeling about this... (yes, I´m a Warsie...too) and it´s that, in case Don had stayed on, the show would have been canceled. Lorimar and CBS had Falcon Crest by then, with a stronger cast and considerable originality, and Flamingo had just started, with glossy Fairchild as the main lead. It wouldn´t have been a surprise (to me) if they had axed Knots. Maybe with Abby and Gary hitting the road back to Dallas?

Let´s be honest: some of Season 3´s self-contained episodes were rather atrocious, and some of the subplots, not interesting at all. It was the creativity injection they put it in Season 4 what gave life to the show for 10 more years. Bitchier Abby, stronger Val, Karen meeting the right man for her in Mack, someone to hate to the max (Diana!), etc. That was the reason the show went to stratosphere for audience and critics after that. Just my 2 cents.
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Agree 1000% - and Season 5's Devane debut, like Dobson in Season 4, infused the show with testosterone: Alpha males that many women find shamelessly attractive and many men identify with, rather than weak men like drunk Gary, Richard or Kenny...

Daniel Avery said:
What if the arsenic leak at Lotus Point/Empire Valley had been more deadly than it was? We saw Eric Fairgate get seriously ill and heard that an offscreen employee (Charlie Lee) died from arsenic poisoning. That death was what compelled Karen to overrule Abby and close the place down in the final episodes of S7. What if the writers had decided to use this as a season-ending cliffhanger that would allow them to cull a few cast members and set up some S8 plotlines? I can see the cameras lingering on all the main characters gulping down large glasses of water in every scene, the kids in the swimming pool, and irrigation sprinklers spraying poison all over everything......
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As long as they didn't poison the milk: Never seen so many adults gulping down huge glasses of milk...

Willie Oleson said:
What if Tidal Wave Energy had become a big success?
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My electric bill would be a lot lower...
 
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