Vee

Brown and Esensten did an all-time great arc with the Loving Murders which was (IMO, I know others disagree) uniquely rooted in that show's strange, sad family history and gothic sensibility (dating back to its dark pilot episode murder mystery with Lloyd Bridges and a chilling Geraldine Page) and situated as well at a moment where a handful of key young and/or Black characters could take off on ABC. Watching it all again for the first time since childhood during the housebound horrors of 2020 was one of the highlights of my soap viewer experience. They spent the rest of their career chasing that high, and never really could replicate it. Not on The City (though my ex adored The Masquerade), not at PC where they went hogwild with horror, and definitely not on Paul Rauch's GL. But I do credit them for being key to re-populating AMC with a ton of Black characters, including past LOV/TC leads Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams again, in the late 2000s, even if only a couple lasted beyond their merely so-so writing regime.

Who still has the rights to this? WB/Paramount? It's really unbelievable that given the pedigree, the Desperate Housewives-style setup and the eternal '80s craze atop almost 20 seasons of content that no one has put this up for streaming on Paramount Plus or HBO Max (or Hulu, but I guess Hulu wouldn't be the place given the Disney merger). It's great already.

She really does suck. The new supporting cast and Jenna Ortega are much better.

I watched all of their Dallas episodes. Now I'm onto the pilot! Michele Lee and Don Murray (who I mostly know as a much older man in Season 3 of Twin Peaks, where he shined) make a hell of an entrance.

I am firmly convinced Griffith would walk before axing anyone frontburner 10 years ago.

Apologies if this is up. I was digging around for info on Knots Landing's origins and came across this, and couldn't find it in a deep dive of this thread: https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/dallas-at-40-the-inside-story-behind-the-show-that-changed-texas-forever/ It is candid to say the least.

Anyone who hasn't seen the original Bergman Scenes From a Marriage, BTW, should; it's amazing. I will be the outlier on Melrose S1 and say I think key elements of the relationships and major couples are formed there, like Billy/Alison and Jake/Jo, or Michael and his various women. The latter half of that season, when Amanda arrives, should especially be watched and is good. Anyway, yes, I will be going all the way through on Knots if I am able. I'm watching the Dallas introductory episodes now. You can see why that show took off as well.

That's essentially what I've always heard. I could never skip all those given the foundations, even if it is slowgoing and the resource will hopefully stick around in the meantime - I don't binge that fast these days, and I'm busier IRL now than I've been since the start of the pandemic. Anyway, I made it through Season 1 of Melrose Place (to say nothing of Season 6), so it can't be that rough.

I have never watched more than a few minutes of Dallas at a time - I only became really cognizant of serialized TV right as it was ending - but I'm digging into the several necessary episodes as a precursor to Knots Landing, and wow, Linda Gray is a force. You always hear that Sue Ellen was the weeping drunk opposite J.R. but it's not always so early on, at least. Models Inc. really did not have her measure.

Pleased to finally have unearthed the opportunity to watch the show. I will be viewing the Dallas episodes with Shackleford and JVA and then moving onto Season 1.

Haven't been back there in years but I will always be proud of the From the Elegantly Understated Tortoise-Shell Desk of Victoria Lord thread I created in DL's soap heyday, which is where this screen name came from. It was my sign off on all posts.

Woof. No.

I think the way that was done, and by Thayer's own choice IIRC, they left the door wide open for Jenny to turn up alive someday.

I remember folks getting real heated when I said that Aryan pack of pecs couldn't act! He's nice enough and very nice to look at, but woof.

I'm not claiming he was a saint or excusing his alleged behavior. I just think he was second to none as Edmund in the '90s, and while I like Drake a lot I can't see him doing it better.

That could've worked, but looking back at that material recently it's hard to argue John Callahan was not born for that part.