Knots Landing

[Vee]

IIRC Ginger is a volunteering kindergarten teacher, at least in the early seasons. Not sure she's even getting paid.

[Chris 2]

Lilimae also worked, singing her little ditties and playing the autoharp. No one paid her for it though.

[yrfan1983]

Love all the renewed postings for my all-time fave primetime soap! Thanks for spearheading, Vee.

Dang, I wish I saved my KL DVDs! I bought seasons 1-9 off of eBay around 20 years ago. Seller was someone who taped the TNT airings. The DVD burning technology wasn't that great, and I often had to request the seller "re-burn" and resend me a DVD that wasn't working. Nonetheless those beloved DVDs were watched countless times.

I JUST threw them away a year ago, during a covid-era feng shui attack, bc all seasons of KL were publicly posted on YT so I thought I'd never need those ol' DVDs again... sigh...

Literally just last weekend, I searched YT "Knots Landing Full Episodes" and someone had posted all of Season 3. Now I can't find it

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I was going to link to the final 2 scenes of The Aftermath, discussed above... my fave KL scenes ever... Karen apologizes to Val and bares her soul, and then Karen visits the Wards at the hospital... just divine... the power of female friendship!

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by yrfan1983

[Chris 2]

It’s frustrating that the series isn’t available. I wish I had thought about taping it but who knew. I do have one episode (aside from the two commercially released seasons): the original airing of the 1993 finale, complete with commercials. I transferred it to DVD a while back.

[Vee]

I don't think it is a good idea linking to full episodes in here at all.

[yrfan1983]

^ Yes, thanks, I see you're right...  I don't get why this show is targeted for YouTube takedowns, since it's not available for streaming or really even on DVD except for seasons 1 and 2, but clearly the YouTube police are out in force.

[Soaplovers]

I always thought it was interesting that Ginger instinctively knew to have Kenny give the baby to Karen at the end of The Aftermath.

Kenny hesitated but Ginger insisted and had a look that showed she knew that holding the baby would be the ticket to getting Karen to let out her pent up emotions.  Those little moments are what made KL so rich in those early seasons...and it gave Ginger a moment that showed she was smarter than people gave her credit for.

Always a shame the writers never drew on her Gingers backstory.

[Chris 2]

Oh yeah - that’s a lovely scene. And then Kenny moves to take the baby from Karen when she starts crying, but Ginger stops him.

[Vee]

So, to take my mind off events in Texas, here's a little more:

Season 3, Episode 5 (The Surprise):

In which Abby gets her kids back, Julie Harris is not yet in the opening credits and I still can't square little Brian being obnoxious teen Bobby Jacoby from Tremors as well as a recent MST3K episode, he's so tiny here.

Interesting to see Karen trying to make her way selling at Knots Landing Motors, for however long it lasts. From a little reading it seems it was Donna Mills who went to the writers and told them 'no one wants to come home from work and watch people selling used cars' and tbh she was absolutely right, but I will miss Sid's baby a little when it's gone, and watching Karen and Gary try to preserve his business. Seems like there's a few hints of the return of Sid's engine with the man who bought a lot from Karen, too - the Carter-era gas/energy crisis figures heavily into the subplots of this season and the last, and it's a fascinating time capsule embedded in the storytelling.

Olivia is still a pistol. "Don't worry, it wasn't a pervert or anything." Amazing that Crazy Jeff literally sits on the couch pretending to read the paper while he lets the ex-wife he stole his children from help do the dishes for him and his hostages. I am equally amazed Abby managed to convince Jeff to come back to KL with the kids vs. just grabbing them in the night and hauling ass, calling the FBI. She strung the trapline long.

The Val/Lilimae friction continues to vibrate in the background, which I appreciate. Poor Richard stuck pimping hos! I loved Lilimae's response to Laura when asked how she was: "Fat, sassy and curious!"  She already fits in well in the Ewing household, mixing things up, gossiping and cooking big meals. Lilimae is enough of an operator that I like to think she'd have seen through Abby's act instead of buying in, though.

Abby works a Mata Hari act on Jeff beautifully. The look in her eyes at the end was scary as hell: "He hurt me. No one gets away with that." I wish she'd had him arrested, though. I have no idea if we hear from Jeff again. Dude does not seem like the type to give up because of a restraining order; you'd think he'd turn violent next.

Episode 6 (One of a Kind): 

Terry "Weekend at Bernie's" Kiser is here! And so is OLTL's Allan Miller, the original and best Scooter, back again. I'm sure CBS mounted a massive "The Real Scooter Returns" campaign to promote the episode.

The unique Karen/Richard friendship plays again early in this episode and it's just golden. I can't gush enough about it. The juxtaposition of their relationship and the dance with Scooter and Laura is pointed and very interesting, and I do wonder what the show would've looked like if Richard and Karen had actually tried it on, just for one night. Karen is so much the audience heroine for the show that I don't think they'd ever have gone there in that era, even with Richard being a much more positive and redeemed character over the last half-season who is currently true to Laura, but I still wonder. I am surprised Scooter and Laura actually went there, and I wonder where that goes next. I would not have expected Laura to be the one to stray at this point, and yet it makes sense: She is now the more empowered, increasingly more worldly one. And now dueling sports cars - woof. Poor Richard is struggling to be the best possible husband here. Never thought I'd be saying 'poor Richard' re: the Averys!

Teddy the ex is right about Christmas in L.A.; it's obscene and there's no challenge! I'll never get over missing the old weather and the East Coast as long as I'm here, I'm still a New Yorker and a Washingtonian/Marylander at heart.

"You're no spring chicken, Mom." Little Olivia remains a stone cold stunner. The breezy back and forth duel between Abby and Karen in the kitchen about Teddy and Diana showcased their fantastic, nuanced rapport with its baked-in history, their sniping still threaded with a grudging fondness. And Karen turning out the lights on Abby when she's still eating - I cackled.

More exploration with Val and Lilmae as one of the sideplots here, as Gary gives Val a little insight into Lilimae the child bride, and Lilimae finally makes good on that homemade quilt. I like the push and pull between friction, trauma and analysis.

Teddy's soliloquy about his sons was great work by Terry Kiser, on top of his very candid discussion about their romantic and sexual lives with Karen beforehand (and again with Karen alone at the end with Diana, giving a wonderful talk about the difference between Teddy and Sid in her life as a young woman). The long, long, slow pan to Karen on the stairs after his speech with no music was something you would not get today.

[j swift]

Reading @Vee's totally entertaining recaps brought back some great memories about Laura Avery (Sumner).  Isn't it funny how many of us as young boys loved watching the emotional strum and drum of a woman trying to find herself after marrying young and denying her own ambition?  It was very unlikely, (given most programming focusing on the 18-39 year old demo), and yet that's what made stars out of unpredictable sources like Oprah.

Any way, getting back to Knots, I don't want to spoil Vee's viewing, but I can't get it out of my head that Laura's affair with Greg was a surprise to viewers.  Does anyone else recall that detail?  I have a vague memory that Abby, (or maybe Karen), knew that Greg was having an affair, and then the reveal that it was Laura was a surprise.  Maybe there was some other story beat that I am misremembering, but I seem to recall a surprise twist with Laura that changed the trajectory of the character.  She acquired more agency and became a bit more cunning.

Edited May 25, 2022 by j swift

[Vee]

You don't need to worry about spoiling me for a 40 year old TV show. Use your own judgment but it's not your responsibility.

[yrfan1983]

Absolutely - it was definitely a moment when the camera panned over from Greg to reveal his bedmate was Laura. It aligned time wise with Laura acting as Gary’s real estate agent and resolving to make a life for her and her children post-Richard departure

[victoria foxton]

 

  

Edited May 26, 2022 by victoria foxton

[Vee]

Considering the fact that we already know in the past certain trolls have likely used this forum to monitor, target and wipe out sources of classic episodes, I just don't think it should be discussed in public period. I think people should be very careful.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Vee

[Vee]

Season 3, Episode 7 (Secrets):

Another John Pleshette script! In which a happy and contented Richard Avery learns pimpin' ain't easy. Richard and Laura are so good together in the mode they've been in for awhile - witty, urbane, an equal match in intelligence but able to give and take with Richard contented to let Laura lead - in a way that I never thought was possible for most of the first season and a half. So it's tragic seeing that begin to fall apart; to think it all begins with a misunderstanding and Laura ready to be the one to have an affair.

Allan Miller and Rosemary Prinz are both back - they crackled together. So do Mills and Shackelford the more time they spend together - "tough day at the office, dear?"

I did not know you could get away with saying 'orgasm' on network TV in the early '80s - I can't remember the last time I heard it since. Melrose Place certainly never dared. Abby ringing up a massive lunch bill on the dealership's dime was great, as was Gary's suggestion they just make stuff up for the audit.

Karen: Do you really think the IRS is that stupid?

Gary: Well, it is a government agency.

That is a young and dashing Ian Abercrombie (Mr. Pitt from Seinfeld) as the slinky caterer for Richard's latest ho train. Weird to see him bearded and roguish.

The chemistry between Abby, Karen and Gary at the dealership is brilliant, including the continued grudging care and admiration between Abby and Karen, but as I said I can't fault Mills at all for pushing the writers to dump KL Motors. You can just tell Abby and Gary are meant for far bigger things than this car lot, and that her aspirations in particular are grander - like I said last season, the slow metamorphosis of her house already reflects the far scope of her vision. The glimpse we got of it here as Gary visited was even more modern, a sharp contrast to the rest of the homes in the cul-de-sac. That being said, Abby's breakdown over Sid's gift and the women's truce was really touching.

Allan Miller's Scooter is touchingly tentative with Laura, who he's been soft on since the beginning of their relationship. I honestly did not expect these two to ever go there; back in Season 2 I thought their closeness would simply drive an already awful Richard madder and madder. Instead, Laura's almost strayed after Richard's worked hard to make good, but his sad lot in life has forced another secret between them, left them unable to communicate and drove Laura to nearly commit the first betrayal of their better marriage and worse, completely check out. The talk between Scooter and Laura about Richard's struggle was earnest and kind, and it's brutal to watch Laura not fully heed or understand Richard's cries for help, right down to the cold silence at the table in the backyard at the end. No comment on the collection of comic Japanese stereotypes!

I love Abby's parenting. "Drown quietly, please!"

Edited May 26, 2022 by Vee