Knots Landing

[titan1978]

When you compare Abby to her popular contemporaries- Alexis, JR, Angela, she stands out for having the most complex writing. Donna Mills knew exactly where the line was for Abby and the audience.

I think it helped if you watched from the beginning, and got a real sense of how much she felt her life was diminished by trying to be a stay at home mom and wife. She had ambition for more, and with Gary she had the means to do it.

[Khan]

Did Abby love her family (including her late brother's kids)?  Absolutely.  But, just like with Karen, Abby also had control issues.  She just couldn't wrap her head around Olivia being a drug addict, or getting mixed up with men like Peter Hollister or Harold Dyer, so she did what she could to get her daughter back in line.

[Soapsuds]

Lynne Moody interview

She discusses why she was fired from Knots Landing on the 43:25 mark.

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Edited October 14, 2024 by Soapsuds

[soapfan770]

Thanks for sharing @Soapsuds Typical show business tomfoolery for sure.

It’s too bad the show really underutilized her that last season. I looked it up and yeah she only appeared in 16 out of 29 episodes that season, very sporadically early on. 

Pat’s death was a needlessly depressing and dreary tale, and the fallout afterward with Frank and Julie’s issues felt somewhat forced although I did like that it was Julie who killed Danny. I think Riley and King tried their best with the material, but it didn’t work for me. Personally Pat’s death left a hole in the Williams family the show just could never fill before Riley’s untimely death. 

I see she did mention Kasha as the producer who hired her but had the issue with…strange Kasha fired Moody at a time when his own time was winding down. I wonder how much Latham was involved with this too. 

[kalbir]

I brought this up before, but I think the Williams family was added in an attempt to get the African-American audience away from NBC.

[Chris 2]

I thought they missed the boat with Pat Williams because Lynne Moody is such an appealing performer. I do think it’s interesting that she was let go from both Knots and That’s My Mama (for the latter, they actually recast her role). She admits to openly expressing her unhappiness while she was on Knots.

[Chris B]

Pat was a wonderful character and she had chemistry with everyone. I feel like the writers didn't have much of a say because they seemed to love writing for her. I think she was a victim of the times. It was easier to keep Frank around as a best friend of Mack and give him dayplayer love interests than it would be to integrate Pat further into the show. They teased Gary and Pat, but clearly that wasn't going to be an option. 

[yrfan1983]

From an interview in today’s NYT with Bruce Campbell - anyone know what ep this is?

“My first TV job was “Knot’s Landing.” I played some assistant to some businessman. You do a take, and [the actress] Michele Lee looks to the camera guy and goes, “Benny, good for you?” She doesn’t look to the director. Benny never didn’t give a thumbs up. Then the assistant director, without consulting the director, would move to the next shot”

 

(Drives me nuts when they add that apostrophe to Knots!!)

[te.]

S9E07 "Say Uncle" according to IMDB. 

[Chris B]

I'm 7 episodes into season 7 and I feel like I was dreading the season because it's typically viewed negatively with the Dallas/Knots HW swap, but I actually think David Paulsen is doing a really good job. I'll admit the dream season on Dallas was a big shift, but the show still feels like Knots. 

Before I jump into season 7, I must give them props on The Long and Winding Road. It's incredibly impressive that the one time they went to #1 was a completely character driven episode with no big action set pieces. As the episode that introduced me to Knots, it'll always have a special place in my heart and it gets better each time. Season 7 didn't disappoint with the fallout. I didn't remember the Fisher's coming back but I love that they played their pain as well. Baby switches have been run into the ground these days, but this was truly unforgettable. Joan Van Ark said so much with such little words. 

One thing that I will say I don't like (and this goes for season 5 &6 as well) is how much Laura is diminished as a character. With Richard she was an equal lead. While she does have amazing chemistry with William Devane, they basically just use her as a talk to for him. It's odd because he's such a major character and she could easily be involved in his and Abby's schemes, but she's left out. In season 7 I'm now 7 episodes in and Laura has barely appeared. Val and Laura were so close in the early seasons and I don't even believe she knew anything was going on with Val's babies. 

Other than the ongoing Laura issue I find season 7 to be another strong run so far. I love how they've introduced Jill Bennett and Peter Hollister. So many twists are on the way, but you'd never know it. There is an air of mystery to both of them but they were smart to let us get to know them before jumping into their mystery. 

Joshua's mental decline is very well done and I love that the entire family is in on it. A personal bias, but I do think the story would've been stronger with Diana in Cathy's place. Like many look-a-likes, Cathy is a pale imitation and doesn't have the same chemistry or impact on the canvas. Even her singing doesn't work for me (outside of Jehovah). I'm definitely not looking forward to her exit story which I remember disliking in previous watches.

[soapfan770]

Yeah I just recently did my own sit on through of Season 7 and enjoyed it from start to finish, the highlights for me being like you said Joshua’s decline, the strange mystery of Jill and Peter, Empire Valley ecological disaster, and the end of Gary/Abby’s marriage as Gary slowly got entangled with Jill.

I actually thought Ben and Cathy made a nice pairing and actually feel like Ben just should have left with Cathy because his Season 8 story and eventual mysterious disappearance was off the rails.

[kalbir]

The final 10 episodes of season 6 were the peak of Knots Landing for me.

Knots Landing starts tanking for me in the aftermath of Val's babies. Joshua descent into madness and eventual death was painful to watch, Empire Valley became a mess, and I didn't like Ben/Cathy storyline.

[soapfan770]

Oh I definitely agree about the last episodes of Season 6 being peak Knots.

I had liked Baldwin’s performance but never liked Josh as a character. However I did feel terrible for Cathy and Lillimae for having to endure that whole ordeal as it was like a repeat of Chip’s demise.

For me the show starts tanking the following season. 

[Chris B]

I know it is super unpopular, but I loved that spy story. I found it believable with Ben's backstory since we saw him go missing in South America during his first season. I loved the building paranoia and how they integrated it with the Greg and Laura. The writers finally remembered Laura and Val's friendship and actually did something with it. 

I loved the Joshua story due to Alec Baldwin and Julie Harris. I love that they continue to use Lilimae and give her interesting things to do. 

[Soaplovers]

I did recent rewatch of season 8, and I was surprised that I found more to like about the season then not.

- Jill's character gets development and is more then just a plot point/obstacle (which she was in season 7 with first Karen/Mac and later Gary/Abby).  She's a grey character... and that's a difficult character to write for.. hence why writers struggled to write Laura since she also was a grey character.

- The Jean Hackney story went on too long, it should have been resolved earlier in the season because the follow up episodes after that story ended involved Laura/Val's friendship suffering, Val/Greg actually sharing scenes, Ben's mental decline with the roles reversed between Val/Ben.  All elements that needed more time to be developed/played out.