kalbir

Was this in 1982 or for the pilot in 1981? I cannot picture Susan Flannery as a henchwoman straight out of a James Bond movie.

Around 1996 it was rumored Bradley was going to recast Kristen with Melissa Reeves but as we know that didn't happen. Also 1993, Marcy Walker turned down a part on B&B. I think it was Kristen, but I haven't seen anything to confirm that.

For 8 seasons (1981/82 to 1988/89) we had the big four soaps. Here's how they rated at the end of each season. 1981/82: 1. Dallas, 13. Falcon Crest (first season), 19. Dynasty. Knots Landing was below the Top 30. Falcon Crest was the highest rated new scripted series of 1981/82. 1982/83: 2. Dallas, 5. Dynasty, 8. Falcon Crest, 20. Knots Landing 1983/84: 1. Dallas, 3. Dynasty, 7. Falcon Crest, 11. Knots Landing 1984/85: 1. Dynasty, 2. Dallas, 9. Knots Landing, 10. Falcon Crest. The peak season of primetime soaps. 1985/86: 6. Dallas, 7. Dynasty, 17. Knots Landing, 24. Falcon Crest. The season primetime soaps started tanking. 1986/87: 11. Dallas, 23. Falcon Crest, 24. Dynasty, 26. Knots Landing 1987/88: 22. Dallas. Falcon Crest, Dynasty, Knots Landing were below the Top 30. Primetime soaps really should have ended at this point. 1988/89: 27. Knots Landing, 29. Dallas. Falcon Crest and Dynasty (final season) were below the Top 30. Falcon Crest finished ahead of Dynasty in two seasons and ahead of Knots Landing in four seasons. Yes there was the time slot hit perception, but it clearly had a following.

"CBS's finish was the lowest in its history". Little did the writer know at the time that things were going to get worse for CBS. Four consecutive 3rd place finishes were on the way (1987/88 to 1990/91).

So which version of Falcon Crest is the favorite of this board? Season 1: Wealthy Waltons in modern day California wine country. Seasons 2-4: Dallas with grapes venturing into James Bond territory. Season 5: Dallas with grapes venturing into Miami Vice territory. Seasons 6 and 7: High octane, action-packed thrill ride. Seasons 8 and 9 were the off the rails plus budget mode era so I didn't bother including those. You had the all the ingredients for a great show (California wine country backdrop, the connected families, their wine businesses, the family/business conflicts, the acting talent, the soap elements) but the execution somehow didn't live up to the potential. I wonder how much network interference and backstage drama played a part in that.

I loved those big 1980s network miniseries based on best-selling novels. They are now relegated to Lifetime.

Y&R from the beginning, wow. Thanks @will81 and @FrenchFan

I say salary dump. I don't think she would've appeared in these two promos for CBS's Fall 1989 lineup if she was on her way out by her own choice.

When I say long-time female cast members, I'm referring to those who were part of the original cast or introduced during the first two seasons. Let's break down all three shows. Dallas: Spring 1987, Susan Howard written off due to lack of storyline and Victoria Principal leaves by her own choice. Spring 1989, Linda Gray leaves by her own choice. Spring 1990, Barbara Bel Geddes retires due to health and Charlene Tilton written off due to lack of storyline. I suspect Susan Howard, Barbara Bel Geddes, Charlene Tilton were salary dumped. Dallas was always the more male-focused show so I don't think the new young females that were introduced Fall 1988 onward (the off the rails plus budget mode years) would be considered front-burner leads. Knots Landing: Fall 1987, Constance McCashin and Julie Harris are salary dumped and this has been documented. Spring 1989, Donna Mills leaves by her own choice. Fall 1992, Joan Van Ark leaves by her own choice and Michele Lee takes a pay cut to appear in all episodes of the final season (I believe Michele herself confirmed this). While all this is going down, Nicollette Sheridan becomes a front-burner lead. Falcon Crest: Fall 1988, Ana-Alicia is salary dumped but it went wrong (Ana-Alicia pretty much says this in a YT video posted in the Falcon Crest thread). Fall 1989, Susan Sullivan supposedly leaves by her own choice, Jane Wyman absent most of the season due to health, Margaret Ladd written off halfway through the season. I suspect Susan Sullivan was salary dumped (I spotted her in two promos for CBS's Fall 1989 lineup and I don't think she would've appeared in them if she was on her way out by her own choice; they are posted in the Falcon Crest thread), and so was Margaret Ladd. I also think Jane Wyman's episodes being cut was a budget mode move. While all this is going down, Kristian Alfonso becomes a front-burner lead. Looking at all this, yeah, there's a pattern.

Y&R needs a cast purge, but it's not the show to have a serial killer mystery. I'd hate to think of how Josh Griffith would bungle the execution of such a storyline.

Even though The Golden Girls centered on four 50+ women, it appealed to viewers of all walks of life. The Golden Girls was the breakout hit of 1985/86, finishing 7th, and it breathed new life into NBC's Saturday night lineup. 1986/87 The Golden Girls finished 5th. 1987/88 was it's highest finish, 4th, behind The Cosby Show, A Different World, Cheers. NBC really had the sitcom game on lock in the second half of the 1980s.

I had no idea Murder, She Wrote had an episode that reached #1. 1986/87 Murder, She Wrote finished 4th, behind the NBC Thursday powerhouses The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers.

As far as the CBS big three primetime soaps go, 1985/86 was the tanking season. Spring 1986 CBS and Lorimar should've realized the genre is fading and give the shows two seasons to wrap up everything. 1987/88 is when they started going off the rails and that season feels like the natural end point of the genre. Fall 1988 onward is off the rails plus budget mode and its difficult to watch that era. I don't know how much of it is effects from the writer's strike, or that times were changing. Given what we know today, I can't help but feel that the rise of Les Moonves through the ranks of Lorimar/Warner Bros. also played a part. He was there from 1985-1995 and that overlaps with the CBS big three primetime soaps salary dumping mostly the long-time female cast members when they were in budget mode.

Dallas was still a Top 30 show in 1988/89. The final two seasons were below the Top 30. Of note is that CBS was in 3rd place during the final four seasons of Dallas (1987/88 to 1990/91).

Who's contracts are up soon? I think Mark Grossman is approaching the end of his, unless he's already renewed.

@Soapsuds This was the week that CBS moved The Jeffersons and Alice from Sunday 9 pm/9:30 pm to Tuesday 8 pm/8:30 pm, where they got clobbered by The A-Team and eventually cancelled.

Hopefully we'll get something good in June for Jess Walton's 35th anniversary, and the 40th anniversary of Eileen Davidson and Beth Maitland first episodes.

@BoldRestlessWere you trying to link to Kate Linder's interview on The Locher Room?

Are you thinking of Medium? Midseason start on NBC in January 2005 and they cancelled it June 2009. CBS picked it up September 2009 and they cancelled it January 2011.

What other reason is there to watch The Talk 🤣

A CBS midseason pickup of a cancelled NBC show eventually lead to an entire franchise. NBC cancelled JAG in May 1996 after one season and CBS picked it up as a midseason replacement in January 1997. NCIS was spun off in September 2003, and the rest is history.

The huge rise of Reilly's Days overlapped w/ Y&R going off track (Fall 1994 through first half of 1997). The week of June 23-27, 1997 Days nearly beat Y&R, there was a 0.3 difference between the two. Recaps for both shows that week The Young and the Restless Recaps: The week of June 23, 1997 on Y&R | Soap Central Days of our Lives Recaps: The week of June 23, 1997 on DAYS | Soap Central

It just occurred to me that two pivotal moments on Dynasty were pretty much echoed on the Spelling Fox shows a decade later. Spring 1984: Goodbye Pamela Sue Martin. Dynasty lasts another 5 seasons, but it wasn't the same despite reaching #1 in 1984/85. Spring 1994: Goodbye Shannen Doherty. Beverly Hills 90210 lasts another 6 seasons, but it wasn't the same. Spring 1985: Royal wedding shootout. The series declines quickly in the aftermath. Spring 1995: Melrose Place bombing. The series declines quickly in the aftermath.

I wonder if Bill Bell's health issues started in the mid-1990s, as that overlaps w/ him turning the reigns at B&B over to Bradley, and Y&R going off track in the aftermath of OJ.