Knots Landing

[Vee]

A few idle thoughts on Ep 11 of Season 6 (Distant Locations), where Val's finally gone AWOL:

• I love the almost direct-address-to-camera testimonials by the ensemble to the cops re: Val that open the show - more than most primetime soaps, KL always seems willing to experiment with different kinds of filmmaking and narrative technique in any given episode. The voice-over of them with Val wandering further and further is also well cut together. This is another great episode from series director Larry Elikann, who apparently only has a few left after seeming to cover so much of the show for so long. That's gonna be a big blow. I'm not sure when Bill Duke's last ep is but Nick Havinga, a recent addition, has done great work on the childbirth ep and a few other recent ones since.
• Gary's crypto-paternal relationship with Paul Galveston continues to develop in fascinating ways: Galveston tells Gary 'you'll be the one they remember, not Bobby, not J.R.' and Gary tells Abby, 'he gave me a vision of myself I never had before.' He's also got a lot to do with mysterious satellites, which again makes me wonder about what little I've heard of the Empire Valley plotline, which apparently spun out of control later on - I'd love to know what its original conception was if it indeed was created by this writing team, and what changed. But there'll be time for that when I get to it, I suppose.
• Karen doesn't stop being Karen even with her failing body, which I was pleased to see; just because she has a terminal illness storyline doesn't mean she is out of the rest of the action, whereas later primetime soaps (Melrose, etc) increasingly islanded characters. Both elements of the character are balanced off of each other, and it's heartbreaking to watch with Michele Lee having Karen soldier through it by simply trying to switch writing hands while searching for Val.
• There's nothing I can say about JVA's performance in the mirror, etc. throughout this ep that I'm sure many haven't said over 40 years. It's amazing work, and I had to go back and watch her one-take, no-cuts transformation into "Verna Ellers" twice. This episode was written by longtime series scribe Richard Gollance again, who we know was enchanted with JVA and her ability and has said in his interview with Tommy Krasker that he'd often let her do whole scenes in 'reveries,' with silence and minimal to no dialogue. But I was even more amazed by her channeling Val's conception of Abby in the bar as Val's fractured mind slips from madonna to whore and back again, with Val even quoting Abby's famous 'affair' speech from Season 3 back to the married woman she runs afoul of. I hadn't noticed until I did some digging that Val is going by the alias here of the main character from Nashville Junction, her second novel which was a critical/commercial? flop - another recent failure in her life. Her wardrobe and hair also very, very noticeably regress at the end back to that of the Val we met on Dallas and in the first two-three seasons of KL, the '70s country waif in peasant blouses with barrettes in her blonde mane. These are all such specific character and stylistic elements, such attention to detail you just don't get on most primetime soaps where plot comes first.
• Abby's amazing short bob has taken a turn! I hope it will recover from this unfortunate sidelong path down Mullet Way. I do truly believe Abby when she tells Lilimae and Gary she wants to help find Val with a P.I., but we already know before the reveal that he's her inside man that it's more than that - just as in the past seasons Abby has to control things, has to help in 'her way' to get what she wants first, which is Val not endangering her marriage. I don't necessarily believe the guilt-stricken Abby of the last few eps (who I've discussed a lot here recently) would try to keep Val gone forever, but I do think she wants Val in hand, wants to manage the situation with Val and the babies where she can keep Gary and keep the secret while also seeing Val doesn't come to worse harm. Maybe I'm naive, we'll see soon enough.
• Joshua's turn towards TV evangelism is slow and well-studied, and very topical for the time. They've done a clever job with Joshua so far in that he seems very benign and kind, but he will always interject some note of severe repression or Old Testament judgment in his attitude that will throw you just slightly no matter how pleasant he seems. He does it here this ep when he casually mentions to his preacher idol that his sister who he's so worried for had 'made mistakes.'
• Apparently Laura wants to go to D.C. with Greg Sumner after all, because we see them talking about post-coitus at her place as he meanders around her kitchen. This is the first time I think we've seen Greg inside the house, excepting his drunken stumble onto the premises when he showed up looking for her with only Cathy there. I wonder if the Avery boys know about Laura and Greg. Sumner starts prodding her quickly about Scott Easton after his name comes up re: Lotus Point, and Laura wisely seems to twig onto his intrigue, remembering how he used to feel her out about Wolfbridge. It's the tiny hints and intricate connections the Dunne team build slowly that work so well on this show, three seasons running.
• That is Jerry Lacy from Dark Shadows as Lilimae's surprise shrink!! I hope he returns.
• "Everything Scott Easton told me about you is true," Galveston tells Abby when they meet. The reveal that those two know each other and that he's clearly deeply involved in whatever the hell is going on with Val, the babies, etc. must've been a shock for the audience back in the day, even if Easton's disappearance had already led Abby back to Galveston Industries. I was slightly clued in, but I don't mind that as I was far too preoccupied a few eps ago trying to figure out why on Earth Easton would go out of his way to traffic Val's babies. I still don't know what this is all about with Galveston, but it's very intriguing.

I don't know how many of these I'll produce more individual notes on ep by ep - I don't want to go on forever like before - but we'll see what I can maintain. Happy to be digging back into the show.

Edited November 3, 2022 by Vee

[kalbir]

@Vee I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the Ava Gardner episodes. I love messy wealthy matriarchs and Ava as Ruth was everything.

[yrfan1983]

I imagine you haven't seen the '93 "reunion special" that aired right before the series finale. In the special, JVA gets teary recalling filming the mirror scene, giving credit to the entire production team for collaborating to film that scene in one take (as JVA didn't think she had it in her for a second take)

[Vee]

I haven't, no. But that would jibe with Gollance's discussion of how much he trusted in her ability in his interviews.

[Soaplovers]

That scene of Val breaking down completely was so masterfully done.  JVA could have gone OTT..but she was so subdued and matter of fact as she scrubbed off the 'Abby'paint and starting all over again verna.  

It's fascinating how planned out her shift into this new persona was and you could see the thought process play out in her eyes.

I've always maintained Val's weak point wasnt Gary..but her need to mother.  Losing the twins brought up the loss of Lucy and it caused her to go over the edge. 

It also explained her being a motherly figure to Annie Fairgate, Cricket, Olivia, Kate, and Lynette (waitress).  To fulfill that need, to be there to help when no one was there to help her, and to be protective.

It's why the Poor Jill scene later is so good because having a threat like Jill around her kids triggered her memories of being without them and she was bound to fight for them no matter what.

It's sad how Val became the village idiot when she had such richness and complexity.

[Joseph]

This may not be as enjoyable as Abby Getting Slapped But Since I Never Liked Richard

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[Joseph]

This Is A Compilation of Police Woman Episodes, Donna Mills Appears as an Unhinged Young Woman who kidnaps the child she previously sold In The Episode that Begins on 49:15

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[Faulkner]

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[j swift]

You've seen Blue Steele, you tried Smizing, now comes Donna Mills's iconic pose "fawn in the headlights".

[Franko]

Joan van Ark knows your sins. And she's disgusted.

[kalbir]

Knots Landing mentions in SOD Best and Worst.

1983: Best True-to-Life Storylines, Best Nighttime Show

1984: Best Casting, Best Story, Best Show

1985: Best Weddings, Most Romantic Scenes, Most Intriguing Characters, Best Performance by a Celebrity

1986: Most Surprising Relative, Best Prime Time Show

1987: Best Prime-Time Casting

1988: Best Wacko (Prime-Time), Biggest Waste of Talent

1989: Most Shocking Twist, Best Show- Prime Time

1990: Best Villain (Prime Time), Best Hidden Pregnancy, Best Widower, Best Prime-Time Show

1991: Best Villainess, Most Disappointing Show

The write ups are posted here Classic Soap Opera Digest News on Tumblr - #Best & Worst

1985 is incomplete on Tumblr but the missing write ups (text only) are here Voldemort Best & Worst -- 1985 - Daytime Royalty (daytimeroyaltyonline.com)

The 1991 mentions are here 1-7-92 Soap Opera Digest THE BEST & WORST of 1991 | Soap Opera World but I couldn't find the write ups anywhere.

Edited November 24, 2022 by kalbir

[DRW50]

 

[DemetriKane]

You're right about all this!!!

[victoria foxton]

 

  

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[kalbir]

At the height of primetime soaps (Fall 1982 to Spring 1985), Knots Landing set itself apart from the others with high emotional stakes character driven storytelling. Knots Landing may not have been the pop culture phenomenon and ratings grabbing monster hit that its parent show Dallas was, but I think the place Knots Landing has in television history is that of a spin off done right. Knots Landing carved its own identity separate from Dallas, and that's how its run and episode count pretty much equaled Dallas. Both shows ran 14 seasons, Dallas produced 357 episodes, and Knots Landing produced 344 episodes.

Edited December 30, 2022 by kalbir