Knots Landing

[Khan]

For the most part, I think (former) daytime actors fared well on KL, with Peter Reckell being a noted exception, lol.

[kalbir]

Of the CBS primetime soaps, I'm pretty sure Knots Landing had the most former daytime actors in the main cast or in short arcs.

I pointed out before that CBS had so much of their own daytime talent that could have been used on their primetime soaps but for whatever reason the CBS primetime soaps used ABC/NBC daytime actors instead. I have a feeling demographics played a part in that, since CBS on the whole skewed older compared to ABC/NBC.

[Chris B]

She was memorable in her scenes, as was Jane Elliot who was excellent as Judy Trent. 

The one daytime star on Knots that baffles me is Robin Strasser. If you mention the show on Twitter she gets super upset and says she did it for the money and hated working on the show. I enjoyed her storyline and her character so I've never understood just why she hated it so much. I mean, it was a recurring role on a primetime series and probably paid her well. I don't get what there is to be so upset about, unless she was promised more and didn't get it.

[Khan]

It's possible Robin Strasser was promised more than what she ultimately received - I remember when she appeared on some game show (might've been "Match Game '90") and the host mentioned her sticking around KL for another season - but I can understand why she wouldn't like the show or her character. 

To me, Dianne Kirkwood was not so much as a character as she was a plot device: Karen's cutthroat new boss/producer, who hates her from day one and, in time, becomes a suspect and red herring in her stalking.  Aside from her battles with Karen (which were good, but that was due more to RS working well with Michele Lee than it was to the writing) and weird relationship with Chris Lemmon's Jeff, there's really nothing to her.  In fact, next to Dr. Christina Karras Martin on AMC, it's probably the most miserable character RS has ever played.

So, that makes two daytime alumni who didn't fare well on KL: RS, and poor, poor Peter Reckell.  Three, if you count James Houghton; four, if you count Sam Behrens (who I insist was cast solely because he was a GH alumni like Douglas Sheehan); and five, if you count Marcia Cross, who would've been a fantastic addition to the show, had her character not been all over the damn place, lol.

Edited September 29, 2024 by Khan

[soapfan770]

I agree. Robin Strasser looked like a luminous diva and did a fantastic job with what she had. Problem was like you mentioned was Dianne Kirkwood was a plot device and was a very one-dimensional character. Not much to build on there.

It doesn’t surprise me if Strasser was promised the Moon or something by some shady executive talking like a used car salesman and then it all fall apart. 
 

Did any of the daytime stars that came to the primetime soaps in the mid to late 80’s have any success? I’m scratching my head here. I also forgot about Marcia Cross, what a waste but then again it happened during Knots’ most lackluster season.

[Chris B]

I'd agree with this list. I just re-read an old interview with Lynn Marie Latham and Bernie Lechowick and they said Danny was their favorite character...I was shocked to say the least. He was easily the worst villain this show ever had. The others you listed were also flops.

Another I would consider adding to the list is Kathleen Noone. She's a great actress but I found her character difficult to stomach, especially after she had her son killed. I personally would've preferred moving Diane into the cul-de-sac and giving her a family and more dimension than the Claudia/Kate stuff.

[Soaplovers]

Dianne Kirkwood would have served as a good Abby replacement instead of going through the effort of creating Claudia and bringing back Anne as a full time cast member (who worked better as a character that would come and go).

Sadly, as previously mentioned, she was viewed as a plot point instead of a character that you could write and keep on full time.  You could tell that Lotus Point being dropped in season 10 really affected the show because losing Lotus Point took away another gathering place for all of the characters to interact at.

Dianne could have been someone from Karen's past that perhaps found a way into getting a position/job at Lotus Point to stick it to Karen.  She could have even been introduced to other characters and also had her back story fleshed out.

[soapfan770]

I like your idea of Dianne moving into the neighborhood with her family a lot. I adore Kathleen Noone but Claudia and especially Kate came off as pointless at times or unnecessary additions when compared to Anne and Paige. 
 

@Khan @Chris B I’m guessing something similar had to have happened to Strasser with Lorimar in the same way that Lesley Anne Down was treated over at Dallas i.e. promise of major character and a second season but it failed to materialize.
 

Danny was their favorite character though…??

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Yikes. I think Behrens did fine with the creep/ick factor of the character, and Behrens himself did well as the central villain years later on Sunset Beach. 

Agree with these ideas!

Also you have a valid point about Anne, I just recently watched her lone Season 10 appearance at Paige’s grand father’s funeral and boy was that perfect.

[Franko]

Throwing it out there ... should Robin have been a recast Victoria Hill?

[Chris B]

Oh that would've been fabulous! She could've come back with Diana who could've interacted with Paige. They could've moved into the fashion business. That would've been fun.

[Khan]

It says something when her lone guest appearance on "Murder, She Wrote" was overall more rewarding to the audience than anything she did on KL, lol.

If KL had been in better shape during S13, I've no doubt that TPTB would have seized on making Marcia Cross a full-time cast member.  I thought she could've been integrated very well with the rest of the show as a rival of Paige's and new resident troublemaker.  But the show was just such a mess by that point, it was all they could do to finish episodes on time and on budget.

[kalbir]

To think if Marcia Cross had a longer run on Knots Landing, we might not have gotten Dr. Kimberly Shaw of Melrose Place.

[Khan]

And the downside would've been...?

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[kalbir]

@Khan I take it you weren't a fan of Melrose Place?

[Soaplovers]

For her, she had a job with MP till 1997 and it was her breakout role.

I would say that's a downside lol