kalbir

Also Pamela Long returned as HW in July 1987.

Budget mode also played a part in casting. Hiring on the cheap.

I love that Constance McCashin has always kept it real by saying she was salary dumped. The final five seasons were Paige practically eating the show and for me they were a chore to get through. I've said this before but in the grand scheme of things Donna Mills was smart to walk away when she did.

For me Knots Landing goes off the rails in the aftermath of Laura's departure. Laura was the heart and candor of the show. She kept everyone in check and would not hesitate to call anyone out and put them on blast.

I don't know the timeline for when Donna Mills departure was announced, but perhaps lapsed viewers returned for Abby's exit story.

The Cosby Show saved both sitcoms as a genre and NBC primetime line up. The breakout success of The Cosby Show and the breakout success of The Golden Girls the following season lead to NBC having the sitcom game on lock for the rest of the decade. 1982/83 was CBS transition season for sitcoms. M*A*S*H ended; The Jeffersons, Alice, One Day at a Time fell out of the Top 10; and Newhart premiered. CBS would struggle with sitcoms until 1989/90 when Designing Women and Murphy Brown started showing growth.

I've pointed this out before, but Knots Landing season 15 in Fall 1993 would have looked old school next to peak 90210, Melrose about to take off, and new drama NYPD Blue. Not just that, but budget mode would probably still be in place. If by some miracle there was season 16 in Fall 1994, Knots Landing would have been killed by ER. Knots Landing was effectively over in Spring 1989 with Abby departure. I feel the final four seasons of Knots Landing only happened because CBS was in their primetime mess era.

During the Jabot/Newman crossover Bradley didn't give us a scene with two of his father's greatest creations Victor and Stephanie. Seeing Victor and Stephanie in a scene together would be like watching two gladiators facing off and sizing each other up, each one recognizing the other as someone not to mess with, plus Stephanie would not dare to bitch slap Victor. A Victor and Stephanie scene would've been so epic and Eric Braeden and Susan Flannery would've given us a master class in acting. Susan Flannery herself even said in an interview it was a missed opportunity that Stephanie and Victor did not interact during the Jabot/Newman crossover.

@Liberty City Season 6 was Knots Landing best season. The final 10 episodes of that season were the peak of the series to me.

@All My Shadows Seasons 2 and 3 were the best.

Nikki was the OG ho turned housewife that became snooty lady of the manor. In the 1990s she really needed to be knocked down a peg or two. John Abbott death marked the end of Y&R as we knew it. During the classics, I skipped all the episodes after John Abbott death.

B&B peak for me was 1989-1993, Sally Spectra arrival until Brooke takes over Forrester.

L.A. Law took off with the move to Thursday 10 pm. I love that L.A. Law first Thursday episode was Jeanne Cooper first appearance as Gladys Becker. I see what you did there NBC, you're not fooling me.

I just love that Thanksgiving Thursday was won by a repeat of The Cosby Show. November 27, 1986 was Hill Street Blues last Thursday episode. The following week was NBC's big drama switch: Hill Street Blues moved from Thursday 10 pm to Tuesday 9 pm, L.A. Law moved from Friday 10 pm to Thursday 10 pm, and Crime Story moved from Tuesday 9 pm to Friday 10 pm.

Bradley took over in 1993 and the lull began after Catalina Island and lasted until Fall 1994. Hunter Tylo being so in and out from 1994 to 1998 seemed to have derailed so many storylines.

So Kyle has been with two of Victor's granddaughters. Not that I'm trying to give Josh Griffith ideas, but he could eventually pursue Faith and make it three for three. Obviously he can't be with Katie because they are biological cousins.

Re: Alan recasts. We know Chris Bernau 1988 departure was due to unfortunate real-life circumstances and from what I've seen of Daniel Pilon run, his Alan felt like a stop-gap in order to wrap up Alan storylines and write the character off the canvas. Also half of 1988 was writer's strike material so that had an impact on the storylines as well. As for Alan return in 1994, my feeling is JFP wanted to cast one of her friends as Alan but the friend was either not available or not interested.

Bradley best era was Fall 1994 rebound from the lull through the first half of 1995 when all his big storylines culminated. Tanking started second half of 1995.

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I think B&B is stuck with Bradley until it ends.

I would think the cast changes were a reflection of the EP/HW changes over the course of the 1980s: Potter/Marland, Potter/various writers, Kobe/Long, Willmore/various writers, Willmore/Long, Calhoun/Long.

I describe season 6 as a high octane action packed thrill ride. Keep us posted on your watching, looking forward to your thoughts.

Knots Landing being a community-based show didn't have the same limitations in storytelling and expanding the canvas as the family/business conflict-based shows did. Knots Landing also set itself apart from the rest of the primetime soaps with high emotional stakes character driven storytelling.

@P.J. @DRW50 Thank you for the additional cast departures. Wow, I hadn't realized it was that many. I think 1995 had the most contract cast departures.

Many thought 1991 was going to be a rough year with the departures of Kim Zimmer in July 1990 and Pamela Long in December 1990, and the cast purge in the early months of 1991 (Grant Aleksander, Beth Chamberlain, Kassie DePaiva, Robert Newman, Michael O'Leary). I thought 1991 was very good even though the ratings in the first half of the year didn't reflect the quality of the show.