Knots Landing

[Khan]

They likely did.  It seems as if that happens whenever any actor from a long-running series exits.  Even folks who haven't watched in years or who watched only occasionally will tune in so they can feel like they're part of TV history.  (I, myself, tuned in for Mark Harmon's swan song on "NCIS," even though that show bores me to tears).

[Soaplovers]

A combination of a great season 9 cliffhanger (Jill and Val), a long wait due to the writers strike, promotion by the network of the season 10 premiere, rerunning that episode the week before with even cast interviews, and the announcement of Donna Mills leaving...is my theory.

 

[te.]

IIRC, Season 9 also started quite slow in the Nielsen ratings and seemingly started to pick up with Noises Everywhere. So I think season 10 also had a bit of a forward momentum and then ended up being more stable with its average.

[Chris B]

I finally decided to continue my season 9 rewatch and as much as I hate the early episodes, I do think it picked up with Noises Everywhere which I found to be stunning. I know there was talk of them going to the Sumner Ranch and just filming the cast improving and using that to format the episodes. I really could feel that in the first episode and the second one felt more like a traditional structured episode. 

I will always defend Laura leaving Knots Landing to die as being in character, but with this re-watch, it highlighted to me just how minimized her character had become and that make me more angry when she died. We deserved more. On the other hand, I will say that I felt they did Lilimae and Julie Harris justice from beginning to end. I hate she had to leave but I appreciate that she always was given good material to work with and her exit storyline was really cute.

I'm looking forward to revisiting the doomed Williams family and Jill vs Val. Noises Everywhere does a great job of setting up Jill's descent into madness. Her disgust over Peter's ashes on Greg's coffee table was equal parts heartbreaking and hysterical. She also had great chemistry with John Pleshette which had me wondering what could've been.

[Liberty City]

Pretty sure I'm taking a break after finishing the seventh season today.

[soapfan770]

The Noises Everywhere episodes are definitely a real highlight of Season 9 as I really enjoyed all the performances. I too found the scenes with Jill seeing the urn hysterical as well…also I always felt Abby’s warning “the 1st Mrs Ewing never goes away” to be the the one thing that finally pushed Jill over the edge because after that, Jill’s attitude to Val quickly turns sour. 

[DRW50]

I enjoy some parts of Noises Everywhere, but I also find parts overly stagey and false, a break away from what Knots was at its best, to the point of ruining my experience. I never got past Mack's behavior in particular. The lack of emphasis on Laura herself also reminds me of how little respect the show had for the character.

[soapfan770]

Oh yes Mack’s remarks and later drunkenness was way over the top and annoying.

Richard coming back and ranting at them all "LAURA LEFT HERE TO DIIIIIIIIE!" like he wasn't solely responsible for the turmoil of her life made me cackle. Abby didn't even like Laura but even she was outraged by his tantrum. Richard blaming everyone else but himself is so Richard. 

I read years ago on the net (could be on knotslanding.net) that David Jacobs, who had initiated and directed these 2 episodes (the cast had spent a couple of days preparing their lines at Jacobs' ranch, actually Sumner's ranch in KL) had been a bit disappointed by the result.

[DRW50]

Richard definitely felt in character.

Other moments came across to me as melodrama for the sake of melodrama. I would file Val's tantrum under the same issue. And like the Pollyana speech from Karen years later, it was the show being overly self-aware, which is typical of many shows (especially as they age), but can become dangerous.

Even the best use of overly self-aware writing - the "poor Val" speech - ended up being incredibly humbling and damaging for Val as a character because they just doubled down on all those aspects in the show's final years.

Edited December 14, 2024 by DRW50

[kalbir]

For me Knots Landing goes off the rails in the aftermath of Laura's departure.

Laura was the heart and candor of the show. She kept everyone in check and would not hesitate to call anyone out and put them on blast. 

[Khan]

Improvisation is a tricky business.  It can go terribly wrong more often than not.  And you really need someone there who knows enough about it to keep everyone on track, or else it can become self-indulgent, which a lot of those two episodes was. 

But I still give David Jacobs props for attempting something different.  Even today, I doubt many series would take the risk.

IMO, what KL lost when they let Constance McCashin and Julie Harris go was its' groundedness and relatability.  Harris and McCashin were the show's last two "natural" actors, as the rest of the cast - including even Kevin Dobson and, to a certain extent, William Devane - had become very stylized in their performances.

[DRW50]

I think they did manage to have some good moments (although it takes a while - other than the Jill story I think things don't really pick up again until somewhere in season 11), but the heart and the reality Laura brought never returns. From then on everyone is just a two-dimensional (or one-dimensional) figure.

I agree with you. We just started getting "live" episodes in the '90s instead of the risks you mention. 

(KL actually would have been a good show for a live episode, given the cul-de-sac sets)

Edited December 14, 2024 by DRW50

[kalbir]

I love that Constance McCashin has always kept it real by saying she was salary dumped.

The final five seasons were Paige practically eating the show and for me they were a chore to get through.

I've said this before but in the grand scheme of things Donna Mills was smart to walk away when she did.

[Khan]

I wonder: what if CBS/Lorimar/Filerman & Jacobs had approached Donna Mills with the idea of spinning off Abby onto her own show?  Would DM still have chosen to leave both KL and Abby behind?

[DRW50]

If that was ever a plan at least it would make more sense of the incredibly dull long lost love story she had with Michael York.