Knots Landing

[Vee]

I loved Richard but I think he was expendable at a certain point - I would've brought him back more often for stints. Losing Laura was, I think, a major blow (and I haven't even gotten there yet) but I could understand it to a point. Julie Harris is similar but Lilimae is still a talk-to character in the end. If I had to keep one it would always be Laura.

[kalbir]

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

[DRW50]

They had written Laura into such a corner by the time she was killed off, which is not a statement against her as it is about how one-note the writing for women had become by then. In the show's most complex years, the years that made Knots beloved, Laura was front and center.

[Khan]

I can't argue with anything you've said, @DRW50, @kalbir and @Vee, lol.

I certainly would've brought him back during the final season and paired him up with Anne.  I know I've said this before, but I just think John Pleshette and Michelle Phillips would've been a very fun, interesting, and totally unexpected couple to watch.

[DRW50]

They should have tweaked the homeless story and put him in instead of Stuart Pankin.

[Khan]

Oh, Lord.  The homeless story, lol.

BTW, @DRW50, love the new avatar photo of John Payne. 

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[te.]

The issue is that Laura had become secondary to Greg in their marriage. I think the last time Laura really mattered a lot was in season 5 when they started taking her in a more "grey" direction, which would've been an interesting balance and bridge between Karen / Val and Abby. 

Unfortunately, excluding her from the season 5 cliffhanger could be seen as a sign of diminished importance. Also, the fact that they never let Jason age along with Olivia, Eric and Michael is telling.

Edited March 25 by te.

[DRW50]

She had become secondary, but they could have written for her as Greg's wife. It was just easier for the show to write for less complicated women.

Thanks. It's one of my favorite old Hollywood shoots - just hot as hell. I never would have found it if not for watching Sun Valley Serenade, a rare movie for the Hays era in that Sonja Henie is unapologetic in wanting Payne even though he has a girlfriend, chases him the whole movie, and gets him with no punishment or suffering. I guess the censors decided they couldn't blame her.

Edited March 25 by DRW50

[te.]

Well, the reason they wrote her off was because they had a budget crunch, like a lot of aging shows. They simply had to cut some veteran players to make the budget work and her becoming secondary to Greg just left her vulnerable to being written out, same with Lillimae who was just a talk-to at that point. It wasn't because Laura was complicated - it was because Constance was paid a lot more than she was used. 

I can't honestly say that if I had been a producer faced with budget cuts that I would've chosen different characters to cut. 

Edited March 25 by te.

[DRW50]

I'd say that the reason she became less used is because she was complicated. The women on the show got more and more one-dimensional, to the point where, somehow, Paige was the only complex woman in the last 4-5 years of the show. 

I would have cut Mack over Laura. I am sure some would say you can't make Karen a widow again, but I still would have as other than the Jason story everything they did with him in those last 5 seasons was awful anyway. 

[Khan]

And I think I would've cut Gary.  KNOTS didn't need the connection to DALLAS or to the Ewing clan anymore.  It was its' own animal.  And I know some would say, "Well, what about Gary and Val?"  But, you know what?  I'm inclined to think that maybe Gary and Val had outgrown each other by that point, too.

Of course, the question remains: how DO you write off Gary Ewing?  Well, if it had been me, I would've just had Gary return to Southfork - which, by now, existed in a wonky, parallel universe; one where Bobby remained dead - in order to help Miss Ellie and Clayton run the ranch.

Edited March 25 by Khan

[DRW50]

I like that. Maybe in that scenario Jill could stay around and have some other story (develop her bond with Mack or have her befriend Abby and Olivia while plotting revenge).

[soapfan770]

Ah I can see it now reading in retrospect…

”In 1988, Dallas was given a much needed shot in the arm when Gary, Val, and the twins moved into Southfork together following the reunion in Knots after Ben was officially declared dead. When an honored Bobby meets his nephew and thanks Gary, Gary tells Bobby he felt his son deserved to share the same name as a good man like Bobby and after Val having a terrible nightmare of Bobby dying…to which Val quickly shushes Gary up saying they’re never supposed to talk about the that dream AGAIN”. 
 

Problem solved

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Edited March 26 by soapfan770

[Khan]

Honestly, @DRW50, I would've written out Jill as Peter's murderer.

[DRW50]

That makes sense too. They were so tragic (as was Ruth Roman).

Edited March 26 by DRW50