On 1/15/2026 at 4:42 AM, Khan said:

But, as I've said many times, the Lechowicks couldn't cast for [!@#$%^&*].

I think that was an overall Lorimar issue outside their main casts. Or rather, they casted a lot of bland actors / actresses that were forgettable - Dallas and Falcon Crest also had this issue compared to Dynasty, which did seem to get casting right, or at least memorable, even if the writing wasn't the best. I think a lot of that had to do with Aaron Spelling being willing to take bigger swings while the Lorimar soaps preferred to play it "safe".

I didn't realize Donna Mills did another of these videos. It's still good for what it is intended to be, although all I can think is how ugly a lot of hair and fashion from the time was.

I’m knee-deep in Season 11 right now, just shaking my head at The Village Idiot. I remember watching this season and not liking this storyline very much, but watching it now, I dislike it even more. Both Sam Behrens and Penny Peyser feel miscast. SB more for the forced romance with Val. If he and JvA had had electric chemistry, we might have been able to buy the forced romance and hate that the “perfect guy” for Val turned out to have an a-hole personality and be a r@pist. Penny Peyser? Well, I guess they wanted an actress with a sweet personality who could play vulnerability. I know it might have been hard to run this over the course of the season, but I think it might have been better to lengthen the “romance” of Val and Danny over the course of the season, establish him and Amanda more fully, and then have the season finale include the r@pe. Maybe PP could have been in a final shot where her eyes look “dead” so you wonder, what did wonderful Danny DO to her?! Heck, even if they had Val and Danny marry the episode before—or even the finale—what power it could have been to send Danny over to do his dastardly deed after he’d sealed the relationship with Val! They’d have the viewers once again echoing Jill thinking, “poor Val—she didn’t know!” Instead, we all know what a jerk Danny is the whole time and Val is left being christened TVI.

Meanwhile, the other stories so far this season, well, suck. All I can think is “this show NEEDED Abby—and Donna Mills!” Plus, I’m hating that they’ve done next to nothing with Olivia and Harold. I knew this, of course, but in rewatching it I get frustrated! They could have shown more of the ups and downs of their first year of marriage and maybe even had them each going to Karen and Mack for counsel. They had a legacy character with the potential for an interesting storyline (not to mention maybe she could’ve gotten hired at Sumner Group—what if she was bringing in a decent income and Harold struggles working at KL Motors?).

Paige had started eating the season at the beginning, but thankfully they backed off on that a bit for the time being.

And don’t get me started at their having sidelined the Williams family to various degrees!

Edited 13 hours ago13 hr by DanMan869

7 hours ago, DanMan869 said:

Penny Peyser? Well, I guess they wanted an actress with a sweet personality who could play vulnerability that they could hire on the cheap.

Corrected that for you 😊

For all we know, maybe someone at CBS liked Penny Peyser. Remember she was in the main cast of Crazy Like a Fox and the miniseries The Blue and the Gray.

On 1/28/2026 at 10:37 PM, te. said:

I think that was an overall Lorimar issue outside their main casts. Or rather, they casted a lot of bland actors / actresses that were forgettable - Dallas and Falcon Crest also had this issue compared to Dynasty, which did seem to get casting right, or at least memorable, even if the writing wasn't the best. I think a lot of that had to do with Aaron Spelling being willing to take bigger swings while the Lorimar soaps preferred to play it "safe".

On the one hand, I think you've made a pretty solid argument. But, on the other hand, I'm not sure Peter Dunne or even Joe Wallenstein would've hired someone like Penny Peyser to play Amanda, or Melinda Culea to play Paula, or (God help us) Wendy Fulton to play Jean. Casting choices made under their regimes were far agreeable to me than many who were cast during the Lechowicks' budget mode era.

Teri Austin was probably one of the last of the decent castings the show did for new characters, and that was due to David Jacobs more-so then the other producers at the time... and it was a one scene character that was expanded because of her presence.

Nicolette had raw talent and charisma when she was cast (she was cast at the end of season 7, right before the Lathams took over), but it took awhile before she settled into the role and the writers pulled back on over-exposing her. Her on screen mother Anne played Michelle Phillips worked better as a part time character coming and going.

Melinda Culea was an interesting choice on the show and I think she would have worked in the earlier season format KL had vs the more high gloss late 80s/early 90s version of Knots Landing.

I watched Penny Peyser on Crazy like a Fox and the civil war mini series, and she was a good actress... but not every decent actress is a fit for a soap opera.

Wendy Fulton had a unique look/vibe (she was an interesting presence in Bare Essence -the mini series and short lived tv show), but the character she was hired to play I don't think even Meryl Streep could have made work.

I think the thing about Knots Landing was that you need actors and actresses that could be relatable/middle class and also could be glam. A night out at Lotus Point was something middle class and upper middle class families did in the 80s.. but also could live their day to day lives doing things people watching at home did.