Dynasty Discussion Thread

[Khan]

And Alexis, in that ad, is looking at Rita, like, "That old gag!?," lol.

[kalbir]

Do you mean the second episode of season 6? That was the first time Dynasty got beat by Murder, She Wrote.

[Paul Raven]

Looking at those ratings would have been enough for ABC and producers to panic and make changes.

At the very least, the massacre should have had a character paralyzed and in a wheelchair for several eps. Mmmm....maybe a temp paralysis that they secretly recover from but keep up the pretence-until another character uncovers the truth and indulges in a little blackmail...

[Soapsuds]

I recently saw that episode and Alexis looked stupid.

Yes

[Khan]

That was always my number-one issue with DYNASTY: characters on that show almost always behaved in ways that defied logic or common sense.  Your own niece conspires to have you locked up and have a lookalike take your place so she can get her hands on her inheritance, and you don't even give her a good thrashing after it's all done and over with?  GMAFB.

[Paul Raven]

Agree -surely there was some story to be mined with Krystal suffering some trauma and lashing out at Sammy Jo-maybe giving in to some (justified) feelings of revenge and launching some plot against her niece. Maybe being Krystal, she ultimately can't follow through but it would allow for some suspense and the chance for Linda Evans to give Krystal a little more range.

[Franko]

I can agree with that. Not to mention Christopher's dad turning out to not be J.R.

That actually did happen with King Galen. Or maybe he was just faking it completely. Again, why couldn't this be happening with people we cared about?

[Paul Raven]

Week 14

Dynasty not shown-Xmas Day

Week 15

Dynasty 13.7/26

Magnum PI (Rpt) 12.4/23

Gimme A Break (Rpt)11.1/20/ You Again 9.4/18

NBC's comedy counterprogramming, after some initial success is now mired in 3rd place.

CBS move of Magnum paid off.

Week 16

Dynasty 18.4/27

Magnum PI (Rpt) 16.3/24

Gimme A Break 13.2/20/You Again 12.6/19

You Again was cancelled. Dynasty showing renewed strength thanks to Magnum repeats. Will it triumph when Magnum goes to new eps? Stay tuned.

 

[Chris 2]

The problem with this show, as I watch it on Pluto, is that most of the characters are unlikable, especially Blake. I don’t understand what Krystle or Alexis see in that crotchety, humorless, ill-tempered old goat. Krystle, after the first year or two, is as stiff as her hairstyle. Alexis is too prone to hysterics (she needs to to take a page from her fellow primetime villains and chillax). The original Steven and Fallon are good, but I’m hard pressed to think of other supporting characters I like. I guess Sammy Jo.

[SFK]

 

Speaking of forgiveness, don't get me started on that season one rape...

[Khan]

I realize I'm in serious danger of losing my gay card for saying this, but...the more I watch (or, rather, re-watch) Alexis, the more she bugs the [!@#$%^&*] out of me.  (This is not a knock against Dame Joan Collins, by the way.  She's doing the best she can with this role.  But...ugh, lol.)

Edited November 8, 2023 by Khan

[kalbir]

ABC was the rapemance network in the 1980s. Luke/Laura in the daytime. Dynasty had Blake/Krystle marital rape and Adam/Kirby date rape.

[chrisml]

As a gay man, I've stayed away from Dynasty because of the whole "straightening" of Steven. I have a low tolerance for stuff like that, and I know it was the eighties, but the same stuff still happens today so my tolerance level is nil. It's always the same: a gay character goes through some sort of crisis and his immediate response is to have straight sex. He usually has magical sperm so the coupling results in a baby. I have seen enough clips and I know about the show, but I haven't watched many episodes. I don't know if I can handle being so annoyed with the Steven aspects while watching the rest of the show.

[Khan]

Watching DYNASTY today, it's apparent how much the Shapiros want to explore Steven's true sexuality (even if I don't think they were talented enough to do it right, even if they had had ABC's full blessing)...and it's apparent how they keep getting hamstrung in their efforts by a very skittish network (and at a time when "gay = AIDS" and vice versa).  This, of course, begs the question: if ABC was reluctant to depict Steven honestly as a gay man, then why bother making him gay in the first place?  For that matter, why even buy the show knowing who and what that character is supposed to be?  It makes no sense.

It also doesn't help that they replaced Al Corley, who clearly had no issues with "playing gay," with Jack Coleman, who clearly did.  I mean, did Coleman not know about Steven's sexuality before he took the job?  If he did, then why did he take it, when it was evident on-screen how much he preferred doing anything else?  Again, it makes no sense.

For all its' many faults, one thing that I think the reunion miniseries did right - or at least didn't eff up too much - was affirming Steven's status once and for all as a gay man, living happily with Bart Fallmont in D.C., and able to make some sort of peace with his father and himself.  I'd much rather have watched that material and skipped Krystle being programmed to kill Blake, or Kirby falling back in love with the man who once raped her.

You could make the argument (however strained) that Luke and Laura were a complex situation that played on many levels.  But Blake/Krystle and Adam/Kirby?  There's nothing ambiguous about those instances.  Even if you looked at them through an '80's lens, when it was a "different time" and people held different attitudes than they do today, they're still pretty cut-and-dried.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Khan

[Paul Raven]

 

Week 17

Dynasty 18.5/27

Magnum PI 14.8/22

Gimme A Break 14.6/22/Spitting Image 13.2/20

That season each of the 3 principals had outside projects airing. Linda's CBS Last Frontier mini-series was a hit but Joan's CBS Monte Carlo mini series and John's ABC TV Movie On Fire were ratings flops.