This is the Garbby beach housse and from the current photos, I am pretty sure you are right and they were filming on location.

Spoiler

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26820-Malibu-Cove-Colony-Dr-Malibu-CA-90265/20554916_zpid/

 

Well, now I want to walk into the sea just looking at that place. So stunning.

That place is amazing.

I imagine it would have been difficult to build a set based on it, given all the ocean views. With the ranch, they were able to build an indoor set so that they didn’t have to go on location all the time. 

Also, it’s possible that the owners didn’t want KL shooting there continuously.

Episode 3 (Nowhere to Run):

Laura: Why do you stay with her?

Gary: I said I loved her, I didn’t say I trusted her.

Gary Ewing Enterprises is here! And so is "Westfork" (again, really, Gary?). Westfork is way more grand than Southfork AFAIC; Southfork is one chintzy pool/patio set and tacky yellow furniture from the '70s with a seemingly painted backdrop. This place, however, is vast, has multiple expansive vistas, a much larger pool (sorry, J.R.) and it's at the very least the match of our poor departed beach house. Abby seems less than enamored of it (but has real estate plans of her own), but you really can't ding the place in any way - I'm almost a little surprised Lorimar or whoever let them flex as much dough as this place looks like it cost to show a gigantic ranch on something other than the mothership soap. It makes Dallas look like a roadshow production.

Diana’s turn towards Bonnie Parker/Squeaky Fromme didn’t wholly shock me due to spoilers, but I didn't know when or how it happened, or how intense it got here where she's actively committing crimes. I really didn’t think Ms. High School Dramaturgy Scourge '79-'83 could shrug off Chip's earlier behavior on the road so easily. What an idiot. It seems the turn must have come when Chip showed vulnerability, spun his story and allowed Diana to put herself into it as the maiden. What's more interesting is how Diana becomes the rock of the two when Chip begins to break down as they hit troubles. It leads one to suspect that Diana, the loud and obtuse overachiever, views this all as another grand adolescent rebellion, another brassy Fairgate ingenue project: Go on the lam, love her man, prove to the world she's a strong adult who can beat the odds and make grown-up choices. It’s completely nuts - it’s Karen's ethos curdled. That's the only way I can begin to understand and process what she's doing, that and Stockholm Syndrome. Folks over at Knots Blogging suggest that, just as with Karen's equal and opposite reaction to recent events, Diana is also reacting to the triple-blow of Sid, her mother's remarriage and now the Chip reveal. I think that could be true as well. Doesn't make me want to choke her out any less. That is Gary Grubbs as the cowboy auto dealer who rips the un-dynamic duo off btw, a prominent character actor in a zillion things.

So this is not the first time they’ve shown it in the series so far, and I really, really want to try Valene’s chicken. Anyway.

More Westfork real estate porn: I absolutely adore the rock garden courtyard. Laura gets off a great line as she greets Gary and Abby by the pool: "For us proletariats it’s the middle of a workday." As she runs down various real estate options, Gary the tycoon proves to still also be Gary the rancher and the man who loves nature, calm but forthright; his various selves seem increasingly more joined and synthesized this season ever since he got sober and chilled out a bit. Given his roots he’s doubtful about snapping up huge swaths of forestland (again, still relevant), but Abby just hears the cash register. Hmmm.

More refreshing candor between the budding Gary and Laura relationship: Abby’s like high speed auto racing, Gary tells Laura, and he does love her. One could argue his passion for Abby, knowing how deceptive and controlling she can be, admitting to Laura he loves the risk, is how Gary sublimates and manages his own addiction drives when he's not drinking or gambling. I do think Shackelford and McCashin still have real, unexpected chemistry; that would be an unusual and fun pairing. Either way, I'm thrilled they'll be working together.

There's a really sweet little scene with Eric and Karen as he punches through her perpetual edge of hysteria, reminding her she's not the only one who cares. Michele Lee, as almost always, picks the right moment to give ground to the kids in a scene, say Karen's been wrong and be tender with him. I don't know when exactly they write the boys out for awhile, or if they do with Michael at all (I've seen him in several main ensemble shots as he gets older) - I know both sons return as adults to play the story with Lar Park Lincoln from Friday the 13th Part 7, though I don't know all the details - but they should’ve kept them as long as possible. They may not be master thespians or central casting hunks, but they are talented and cute enough for their parts and they really ground so much of the show for me. (Diana can leave forever, and it's my understanding she does fairly soon.) I also really like Michael and Mack’s bond. Karen’s somewhat twee, play-to-the-house reaction to getting location news on Diana was a bit too coy for me. Either way, off she goes to try to apprehend Chip and Diana herself, leading to a scene of surreal pleasantries as Karen calls home on the wiretap she watched the cops set up, having gone rogue. She's just off the spool and I can't blame her, but I am glad to see Mack able to function as her support, quiet and easy, able to calm her down at least a little bit.

A funny extended bit with just Michael and one of the cops back at the house bantering about guns is nestled in the hour here - another little grace moment they didn’t need to do but that this show excels at. Cute.

From Chip and Diana’s hideout shack to the L.A. marina and a glorious new office space! Abby takes Westmont, her Iago (now played by the original actor again), to what is her gigantic new waterfront lair which I swear to God looks like something out of The Spy Who Loved Me or Octopussy. This is a stunning series of sets (if it's all sets) and it looks like some sort of Bond villain branch headquarters for Abby Inc. Abby's clearly already loving showing this off, and who can blame her? It’s another subliminal seduction of Westmont to get what she wants too, as she hangs off the winding staircase (“do you want to see the rest?”) which is both near-identical visually to how she slowly transformed her house at the cul-de-sac but also likely a redress of that living room set. Abby's clearly planning to build her own empire inside Gary’s, but this time her claims of doing it to protect his fortune from his rash choices ring totally false to me. Gary is free, sober, making moves and demonstrating entirely too much closeness to Val, and likely soon others Abby can’t control (Laura Avery, an old foe). So this is Abby's palace and we’re on her time now. I do wish/hope we could see more of the Abby who openly desired the aspirational Gary for the strength and passion he could express himself as a fully actualized Ewing, as opposed to the Abby trying to yoke him to fit her enterprises. Then again, it's possible Abby's just never fully made the distinction between the two herself - maybe that's the fatal flaw in her love.

The standoff, as stage managed by Diana as another of her high school plays, starring her in every key role! Lord. Diana is now the aggressor and instigator as the state police arrive, while Chip is increasingly the inept, sniveling weasel. Ol' Chip’s starting to look like this whole thing has gone too apeshit even for him and he's begun to regret getting involved with a clear alumni of Broadway Kids. When they're finally apprehended though, Chip instantly comes back to life under the glare of the cameras, flourishing and vamping as press agent par excellence - I loved that, it happens with creeps like that all the time. And what do you say about the ending tag? "It's not Ms. Fairgate. It's Mrs. Tony Fenece!" Ship her to Mars!

Edited June 29, 20223 yr by Vee

@Vee The idea of Diana the theater kid seizing onto the whole Chip saga for the sake of drama adds a lot more believability to how generally insufferable and stupid she was.

I found Diana so annoying, especially with Chip.

I remember thinking Gary and Laura had good chemistry too.  The trio of Abby/Gary/Laura as business associates is one of my favorite beats in season 5 and beyond.  I love the evolution of Laura as much as Abby’s over the years.  She’s great fun being allowed to have a cynical personality and I do think it was a huge mistake to get rid of her down the road.  She was more than viable.

The characters on Knots had such rich lives compared to the other soaps of the era.  There were plenty of business stories on Dynasty and Dallas, but the ones on Knots just feel more layered and real.

 

 

Edit, dammit.

Edited July 7, 20223 yr by Faulkner

13 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Edit, dammit.

Now now...never heard you speak this way...😂

Michele Lee going hogwild starting about 10 minutes in. 

 

In case people care: I know I've been on a break for a minute and I am sorry, but bingeing 4+ seasons in under two months is a lot! I've been working a lot as well as busy with IRL stuff and the general sad state of the world, and as my Knots viewing has lately involved copious note-taking for these posts it can sometimes be arduous while extremely enjoyable. I've also been trying to get back to my other interests and film backlog. Bingeing only goes so far without you being in danger of losing the taste for something so a pause is sometimes needed to keep it fresh, and because of that Knots has always been great for me. That all said, I just dove back into tonight (with the episode right before Lilimae gets behind the wheel, if you know what I mean) and I hope to put out at least another couple eps tomorrow and more in the next week. Cheers.

Edited July 11, 20223 yr by Vee

Hooray!

1 hour ago, Vee said:

In case people care: I know I've been on a break for a minute and I am sorry, but bingeing 4+ seasons in under two months is a lot! I've been working a lot as well as busy with IRL stuff and the general sad state of the world, and as my Knots viewing has lately involved copious note-taking for these posts it can sometimes be arduous while extremely enjoyable. I've also been trying to get back to my other interests and film backlog. Bingeing only goes so far without you being in danger of losing the taste for something so a pause is sometimes needed to keep it fresh, and because of that Knots has always been great for me. That all said, I just dove back into tonight (with the episode right before Lilimae gets behind the wheel, if you know what I mean) and I hope to put out at least another couple eps tomorrow and more in the next week. Cheers.

Take as much time as you need. Any time something done in fun starts to feel like an obligation you just lose the motivation. 

.

 

Edited July 11, 20223 yr by victoria foxton