Knots Landing

[Franko]

Hanging out, or trying to pick up some extra money?

"I can make the coffee just as well as Karen can!"

[Chris B]

The crazy thing about this is that it was also meant to launch a summer spin off and it was just an awful story. I don't understand how they thought it was strong enough to try and develop a spin off around. It's no surprise that it didn't go anywhere. 

[soapfan770]

Not one of the show’s finest moments or ideas. I adore PR on Days but good gosh his time on the show was just pitiful. 

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[Khan]

Like @Chris B said, theirs was a storyline that, in part, was supposed to explain how Abby became Abby.  The thing is, did we really NEED another explanation for how Abby became Abby?  Abby was Sid's kid sister, who'd had enough of being the submissive, suburban mom to Jeff, always clipping coupons and rushing the kids off to this recital or that after-school game practice, so she decided to go after money and power in the male-dominated corporate world instead.  AFAIC, you don't need more explanation than that, lol.

It's obvious KL wanted to exploit Peter Reckell's popularity with DAYS fans (same went for FC and Kristian Alfonso) without knowing exactly what they wanted to do with him.

Yep, I could see that going down in the coffee shop that Karen and Val would've opened in '95, lol.

Edited December 24, 2024 by Khan

[Chris B]

Peter Reckell was doomed with a terrible character. He did have strong chemistry with Nicollette Sheridan but there was nothing he could do to make that role work. Maybe if the Sumner Group was around they could've made it work but there was no long term potential for a conman when he joined.

[kalbir]

Yup. Popular daytime star from a show popular with a younger audience brought on to aging primetime soap with the expectation that their huge daytime following would carry over.

Notice how most of the former daytime actors/actresses that were on the CBS primetime soaps were from ABC/NBC. CBS had so much of their own daytime talent they could have used on their primetime soaps but for whatever reason that didn't happen and I think demographics played a part in that (CBS daytime skewing older than ABC/NBC).

[Khan]

I agree.  I'm hard-pressed to come up with CBSD actors from that era who had the same kind of appeal with younger audiences that ABCD and NBCD actors had.  I mean, who, on CBSD, was as big with young viewers as Genie Francis and Tony Geary, or Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell, were (and who hadn't already gone onto films, like Meg Ryan; or had had their own series, like David Hasselhoff)?

Edited December 24, 2024 by Khan

[te.]

It's odd, because looking aside from casting, the concept doesn't quite work. So Abby became Abby because she met this rich guy once, had her heart broken and then just marries Jeff and lives a boring suburban life? Huh? If anything, you'd think Abby's killer instinct would've kicked in sooner. I actually prefer the simple version of Abby being middle class, hating it and grabbed the first best chance to escape it.

If anything, I think Olivia's storyline in season 11 was meant to be an Abby: Origins story until they nixed it. 

Edited December 24, 2024 by te.

[Khan]

ICAM!!

If the show was hurting for story for Abby, they could've had her deal with something like breast cancer.  Donna Mills was never greater as Abby than when she had to deal with something that was real and out of her control, like with Diana's kidney failure or Olivia's drug addiction.

Edited December 24, 2024 by Khan

[kalbir]

Maybe that's why Donna Mills walked away when she did, and she was smart to do so.

[Khan]

I agree.  KL suffered from her departure - just as it had from the departures of Julie Harris, Lisa Hartman, Constance McCashin and Douglas Sheehan - but Abby crossed the line, IMO, when she set up Harold and basically let Ted Melcher get away with murder.  In times past, Abby wouldn't have wanted to see anyone hurt like that.

[kalbir]

Knots Landing was effectively over with Abby departure.

The final five seasons were a chore to get through. I feel the final four seasons happened because CBS was in their third place primetime mess era.

[soapfan770]

I thought Abby getting back involved with Greg had potential, but it also felt like it was happening a couple years too late and seemed like it didn’t play out as planned. That final story with Ted Melcher was bizarre and out of character for Abby. We even got a red herring scene of Ted potentially killing Abby before she called his bluff and left town, a bit with her tail between her legs though. Still left Paige in danger though.

[Khan]

It probably didn't.  From what I have heard and read over the years, the Lechowicks often had to change course on their stories.  Apparently, they couldn't figure out that what plays well "on paper" doesn't always play as well on the screen.  Plus, unlike other writer/producers on KL, they never consulted with the cast, who knew their characters better than anyone, nor welcomed any of their input.

And it was, for lack of a better word, easier to keep on a show that still had some audience - even if most viewers had abandoned it years before - than to try and launch a brand-new show at a time when your network is literally fighting for its' life.

[Soaplovers]

She wouldn't have let Ted get away with murder...she would have used that scene to set him up to be caught by the police.

I did like how worked up Karen got because she couldn't get Abby in trouble for the Murakme scheme. 

That story I could buy for Abby because she always resented Karen and Gary being involved in Lotus Point.  She saw the Manny scandal as a perfect chance to get that land back from them.