What Ifs That Would Change Knots

[ArchieLucasCarringtonEwing1989]

What if Knots Landing also retconned Bobby’s death?

 

[Daniel Avery]

That's like asking "What if Plato had decided to drink hemlock alongside Socrates?"

 

[Ray_Krebbs]

What if Laura lived and met the Williams family?

 

[Toni]

What if Laura lived and met the Williams family?

That would have made the Williamses less orthopedic and forced as they were, but only in a short run. Every family needs to be defined since their arrival (even with a mystery), but they would have been part of that stupid WPP all the same. Their "transition" into a new normal was even stupider, so they just became a sort of "recurring family" in the cul-de-sac. To this date, I still don´t know how they got away from the baddies or if they could keep contact with their "real" family or what. I do remember that Pat did declare at the court and was attacked for it. Yes, Miss Piggy also tells me that on a frequent basis...

She who thinks she´s perfect.
If you knew about her surgeries...​

 

[Mustard]

What if Knots Landing also retconned Bobby’s death?

A few scenes and events change. Val's son with Gary probably has a different name. Nothing like Dallas though where storylines were redone and went in different directions or had different endings.

 

[Stillwitty]

That would have made the Williamses less orthopedic and forced as they were, but only in a short run. Every family needs to be defined since their arrival (even with a mystery), but they would have been part of that stupid WPP all the same. Their "transition" into a new normal was even stupider, so they just became a sort of "recurring family" in the cul-de-sac. To this date, I still don´t know how they got away from the baddies or if they could keep contact with their "real" family or what. I do remember that Pat did declare at the court and was attacked for it. Yes, Miss Piggy also tells me that on a frequent basis...

View attachment 59041
She who thinks she´s perfect.
If you knew about her surgeries...​

Mack got their dental records altered and id'd them with people killed in a car crash (she and her daughter) and faked Pat and Frank's divorce. Since he wasn't a witness, no one was looking for him. Why they still couldn't contact family - in case the baddies were still watching for them to attempt to make contact, might put extended family in danger.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Yes, the writers did put forth some extra effort to allow the Sollars/Williamses to quit looking over their shoulders. Then they went and shot the legs out from under the whole effort by saying that Julie's extended absence was because she "went back east to visit relatives," then added to this by saying Frank had permanently moved back "to be closer to Julie".

 

[Stillwitty]

Yes, the writers did put forth some extra effort to allow the Sollars/Williamses to quit looking over their shoulders. Then they went and shot the legs out from under the whole effort by saying that Julie's extended absence was because she "went back east to visit relatives," then added to this by saying Frank had permanently moved back "to be closer to Julie".

Yep...TV writers are infamous for not paying attention to themselves....continuity issues...

 

[ClassyCo]

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

This is interesting.

Yes, I do think that Karen and Sid would've made it the entire fourteen-season run of the show. Even with all of the soap opera curve balls that would've been thrown at them, I really do not see them ever breaking up. Like others have said, though, Sid would've struggled to make the transition into the ritzier era of the show, and I honestly don't know if I'd like him moving very far away from his middle class roots. He may have kept Abby in check some, and hey, he may have even been able to help out better with his own children.

For the direction everyone clearly wanted the show to go, however, I think Don Murray left at the right time. He probably even saw that's where they wanted it to go, and he bowed out when he had the opportunity to do so.

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?

For me, Gary and Val breaking up at the end of Season 3 is one of my favorite storylines. I like the Val/Gary/Abby love triangle, even if I do get bored with the constant tension between Gary and Val as the series lingered on.

But what if they had stayed together? The twins storyline might've been a little less interested, Ben wouldn't have come around, there wouldn't have been any reason for Abby to hire Cathy as a look-alike Ciji, and maybe the writers would've decided to bring Lucy in more.

What if Laura and Lilimae hadn't hadn't been written out in Season 9?

As much as I like Julie Harris and her contributions to the show, I was fine with Lilimae leaving. She had, for me at least, worn out her welcome.

I do wish Laura had stayed around. Had she done so, maybe she and Greg could've actually worked out, she could've been a good mother to Meg, and she could've helped keep Abby on her toes.

What if Abby had stayed a few more seasons? Less Paige?

Probably no return of Anne, and almost certainly no Claudia at all.

I totally wish Abby had stayed for the duration of the show. Abby is one of my favorite characters on the show, and I would've liked to have seen what the writers had in store for her during the final seasons. I would've liked to have seen her inside the Sumner Group, being a good mom to Olivia, learning to like Harold, maybe ironing out her differences with Val and Karen, and not being involved in the Treadwell stuff that carried throughout the final season.

I was alright with the return of Anne and the introduction of Claudia, but I'd get rid of both of them to have Abby during those final seasons.