Knots Landing

[DRW50]

That would have been a great rivalry. They got so much wrong with Olivia in her adult years. 

They also never figured out how to bring in any male characters in that age range.

[Khan]

TBH, I wouldn't have minded seeing Steve Shaw and Pat Petersen replaced with actors who could've worked better in soapier storylines.  As it was, they attempted to mold Diana/Claudia Lonow into the new format in seasons 4 and 5, which worked so well that they eventually wrote her out of the show, lol.

[Khan]

I get why they brought Nicollette Sheridan onto the show, but just imagine if Mack and Anne had had a son instead of a daughter.  (Same might go for Greg and Jane).

[te.]

I'm not a huge fan of recasting, but I agree. Neither really "popped" on screen and it made all storylines with them kind of DOA. While Nicolette wasn't Emmy material, you can see why they started leaning into her character.

 

And also, obligatory whining over them killing off Linda, who was just getting started as a young 90s vixen, only to be killed off and then replaced by Vanessa who just wasn't very charismatic. 

[Soaplovers]

I actually think Diana from season 1 to 4 had moments when she was likable and warm, which balanced out when she was acting like her shrew of a mother Karen.

Diana was partly sacrificed at the altar of Karen.

And yes, I liked Karen Fairgate during the Sid era and her widow era.. but Karen of season 5 through season 14 was just a horrible individual.   I was usually team Mac when the two had conflict.

[soapfan770]

I was trying to pinpoint when Mack as a character went downhill for myself. I think it was in Season 10 when Mack decided to be a do-gooder lawyer and also with the whole Meg adoption thing. After that I soured on Mack and Karen, but Mack a lot more because the character had become an extremely self-righteous zealot, while PollyKaren became borderline parody (Seasons 11-13 were definitely the nadir of the MacKenzies lol)

DIRTY COP!!! was bad, but I actually warmed up to the Tom Ryan character overtime especially as I forgot he ended up being on and off the show through the end. 

Greg and Paige were okay for me. Entertaining in Season 10 for sure but i wish the show had decided what to do with them one way or another instead of the constant back and forth that occurred. The Paige/Linda rivalry was definitely interesting, and I do wish Greg had been given a son at some point or all along, maybe that could have spiced up stuff for Paige and Linda down the line as well. 

The whining over Linda’s brutal murder isn’t obligatory, it is required. 

[Khan]

God knows Dana Sparks is no Robin Wright, but casting her as returning Vickie Gioberti on FC made more sense at that point than simply bringing back Jamie Rose, because, FC itself was much more glamorous than it had been in the beginning.  (Plus, I suspect someone like Sparks was cast, because she looked younger than Rose, which, in turn, made Susan Sullivan look younger.)

Edited Friday at 12:16 AM by Khan

[Khan]

I agree.  It made Greg look particularly childish and unattractive.

[SoapDope78]

David James Carroll (David Crane: Season 1) as a singer guest star on the 1975 game show Musical Chairs.

Please register in order to view this content

 

[DRW50]

Mack lost all humor and just became constant judgment. And I never forgave him for making Laura's death all about himself. 

The Jason story in season 12 was his best in years.

Karen I just found to be ossified by this point and really missing anyone who could balance her out.

You're right that they did will they/won't they too often with Greg and Paige. The show likely knew if they got together, they'd never stay together. A young male rival or son for him would have been interesting.

[DRW50]

Thanks!

[FlyRightOrchestraGuy]

@SoapDope Did James Houghton, God rest his soul, appear to be too handsome?  How about David Mason Daniels?

Speaking of Capitol, was there a point in which Kimberly Beck, who played David Mason Daniels's lover on that daytime soap, might have fared well on Knots Landing?  She did have a four-episode stint as Claire Prentice on Dynasty during the 1986-87 season.

Edited Friday at 06:26 AM by FlyRightOrchestraGuy

[SoapDope78]

Houghton like many actors had the looks, but sometimes that reads bland and boring with viewers. Ted McGinley is another example. 

Beck may have worked as a character on Knots if it was well written.

[Soapsuds]

Please register in order to view this content

 

[Khan]

"We're Knot Done Yet": the name of this lovely podcast AND what JVA tells her plastic surgeon at every appointment.

In other news, Michele Lee is reminding me more and more of my old music teacher from elementary school, and I couldn't STAND that bitch.

Edited 1 hour ago by Khan