Knots Landing

[YRBB]

I've done the first 8 episodes of Season 10 and, my God, what a brilliant season! The Lechowicks finally hit their stride. Their material (save for the wrap-up to the Mexico story at the start of the season) is some of the best this show has ever seen -- and that's no faint praise!

 

Abby's reaction to Greg's marriage proposal will always make me laugh. Iconic!

Edited December 16, 2016 by YRBB

[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

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[YRBB]

In the thrilling episode in which Gary finally pieces together the truth about Jill's murder attempt of Val (which features some interesting directing by John Pleshette and is hilariously titled, "Mrs. Peacock in the Library with the Lead Pipe"), Jaime Lyn Bauer appears as a real estate agent, which was a great surprise. I think she probably would have fit in well with the show (and could have even played Anne!)

[DRW50]

 

I'd totally forgotten that. I agree she would have fit in well. 

[Soaplovers]

In regards to the The Lechowicks...when do you guys think they truly started writing Val as the village idiot?  I'm thinking the start of that danny storyline.

[DRW50]

 

You can see their contempt for Val in the Jill story ("poor Val"), and it just chugs along. 

 

They wrecked Mack more than any other character. He went from being one of my favorite characters to someone I despised. 

[Khan]

Honestly, should I feel bad that I still love(d) KNOTS in spite of the Lechowicks?  Don't get me wrong, I think all the criticisms of their work on the show is valid.  For me, though, KNOTS remains the one primetime soap (and maybe primetime drama series altogether) that I can watch and enjoy from beginning to end (limp seasons 13 & 14 included).

[YRBB]

 

She looked radiant. When she, Mack and Karen were all standing outside the office building, it felt she'd been around forever. 

 

 

 

I think the change was noticeable immediately, certainly by Season 9, where it seemed they could hardly give Val more than one scene an episode (and kept treating her and Lilimae like silly little girls). But I agree, although I think Val's gaslighting and murder attempt is a brilliant story (and certainly gave Van Ark incredible material to play), it felt like Jill was often standing in for The Lechowicks the way she mocked Val, or when people started calling Val crazy and cooky when they had never before been so flippant and 'funny' about Val's serious psychological issues. I haven't seen past the first half of Season 10, though, so I don't know how much worse it gets (except for random episodes). Contempt is a good word for it. They didn't seem to get her at all and I have the feeling, had she not been so popular/beloved (both actress and character) and had Jacobs not been around, that they would have gotten rid of her. 

 

That being said, it's not like Gary (who was an afterthought almost for a while) and especially Abby did any better in Seasons 8 and 9. Somebody must have stepped in at some point in regards to those three characters. Meanwhile, they just couldn't stop writing for Karen lol 

Edited January 16, 2017 by YRBB

[DRW50]

 

No. Other than the destruction of Mack, being bored out of my mind by Paige/Tom (DIRTY COP!!1!111), being annoyed by how one-note and sour Olivia was as an adult, and disappointed by a great deal of their material for Abby, I don't think they were that bad. They made some changes to Knots that needed to happen, like the move toward the corporate structure just as this was becoming more prominent in pop culture and the show was facing off against a corporate hit (LA Law). And the corporate stuff was actually fun and entertaining. Outside of that dullard Tom, Paige was a fascinating character, probably the most complex young heroine ever on a primetime soap, and she refreshed a show that had two lead heroines who had seen much better days. They obviously had no idea what to do with Gary ("Sally's friend"), but that had been a problem for the show ever since he broke up with Abby, his true best partner. While I didn't care for the way they moved Greg out of Meg's life, he remained a compelling character even without his true soulmate Laura. I'm sorry things ended so badly with Lynne Moody, but Larry Riley was a charismatic and genuinely likeable presence who made the cul-de-sac feel less stale. And Michelle Philips was simply a blast as Anne - the role of a lifetime for her, just as Paige was for Nicolette. 

Edited January 16, 2017 by DRW50

[YRBB]

 

I feel the same way. The Lechowicks (so far, for me) have done some of the WORST I've even seen on KL and some of the absolute best. That sort of describes exactly how I feel about them.

 

Mostly, it took me a while to adjust to the sudden change in tone the series took (which might have been a wise move, though, post mid-80s), as well as how they seemed to focus exponentially on some characters and forget others for episodes. Season 10 has been doing this thing where several episodes have featured almost exclusively a huge amount of developments in just one story, to the point where you can pinpoint the central story. An almost self-contained episode. In a continuing drama. It's genius and horrible at the same time (at this point in the season, how soon before they run out of story climaxes to focus on?).

 

But I still love every second of it. They've done particularly well with Greg and Paige, who went from meh in her first season to being one of my absolute favorite things.

[Soaplovers]

Season 8 had some good scenes for Val...where she wasnt a joke...but still an actual character with layers.

 

I do think that the Lechowicks were decent writers...but wrote characters in very basic ways...meaning characters tropes...Karen the goody goody..Abby the bitch..Val the victim....hence why Laura was fired....she was not a character that fit a specific trope.

 

I think theveryone Sumnerve Group focus helped the show transition into the late 80s/early 90s.  Had the show continueed into the mid 90s..I think the show would have changed...maybe more focus in the cul de sac...since the mid to late 90s was a back to basic era.

[YRBB]

 

Constance McCashin's son, who played Daniel until he was five, got married.

 

Meanwhile, CMcC, who is almost 70, looks phenomenal! Seriously! 

[DRW50]

Thanks for sharing that. A part of me wants to tweet to her that I loved her work as Laura but actors likely hate that type of thing, especially since she's now totally out of the business.

[amybrickwallace]

 

She sure does. Nice to see she hasn't butchered herself like some of her former castmates...*coughJoanVanArkcough*