I can see Angela Channing doing it too.

Perhaps, if it had been Lance and Melissa's child, or one of her daughter's children by a man she would have thought beneath the Channing/Gioberti family. Otherwise, though, I think viewers would have protested BIG time. I mean, Angela might blow up your vineyard -- and even then, I don't think she'd want to see anyone get hurt or killed -- but kidnap some woman's baby (and make her think it was dead)?

I think Sable or another Dynasty type probably would have done it.

I don't think so. Say what you will about Sable and Alexis, but both women cared too much for their own children to do that to other women.

Of course, Alexis did cause Krystle's miscarriage, didn't she?

Perhaps, if it had been Lance and Melissa's child, or one of her daughter's children by a man she would have thought beneath the Channing/Gioberti family. Otherwise, though, I think viewers would have protested BIG time. I mean, Angela might blow up your vineyard -- and even then, I don't think she'd want to see anyone get hurt or killed -- but kidnap some woman's baby (and make her think it was dead)?

Angela seems a little softer as the show goes along but I could see the Angela of the first year or two being that cold, mostly if it involved her archenemy Chase.

I actually wish they'd done the story where only one twin was found. Val went into a real rut, in terms of story, after that wrapped up, and the show just kept having things happen to her, not having her make her own decisions or choose her own life.

IIRC, David Jacobs hated the kidnapping story because he felt it played upon every parent's worst fears. Imagine if it were your kids, he seemed to be saying, what if you knew your kids were alive and 'out there,' somewhere, even as everyone else is saying otherwise?

On the one hand, I can see where Jacobs is coming from here. Stealing Bobby and Betsy from Val does feel like an awful thing to do to a character. To me, though, watching Val literally lose her mind as she tried coping with their supposed deaths -- something you could argue Val never really came back from emotionally, given "Verna Ellers" and everything else that happened to her over time -- was just as uncomfortable as, say, watching Karen get strung out on prescription drugs. In other words, there comes a time when a writer has to put aside the awfulness of seeing one of their creations go through such an ordeal and realize that they're onto compelling, if unsettling, drama.

Oh, I see. I didn't know that was his reasoning behind it. I can understand it (a little) but I still think it's a feeble argument: If anything, it would made the viewers much more empathetic towards Val (and she was a pretty likeable character to begin with).

I completely agree with you about what it meant to see Val go through this. They weren't afraid to take both Karen and Val to dark places and it made for very compelling, memorable drama. It just makes so much sense to me that she would react this way, especially since it was established very well, early in the series, that Val had huge issues (I hesitate to use the phrase "wasn't all well" but that's kinda how it was). Her biggest pain and regret was never getting to raise Lucy, not having her close. So, to lose her twins like that, especially when she knows they're not dead? Absolutely compelling story.

But I will say this: DM was right to protest Abby's initial involvement. Granted, it muddled the story's beginning a tad (I'm still unclear as to Scott Easton's motivation for appeasing Abby and arranging the kidnappings/black market sale), but making Abby an out-and-out villain in this, especially the hell she went through several seasons before when her ex abducted Brian and Olivia, had to have been the work of some hack story editors who mistook the character for...well...I can't think of any primetime soap bitch who'd do something so foul.

Yes, this I completely agree with. DJ and DM were right to have an issue with that. I'm so glad they didn't make her outright responsible, but complicit. It made all the difference in the world. The only one I could see doing something like this is J.R. (and he actually did, in a way, when he took Lucy away from Val). But it would have been a very, very bad move for the character especially since Abby had been through something like this herself.

I think Sable or another Dynasty type probably would have done it. I can see Angela Channing doing it too.

Sable??? I've seen very little of her but that sounds like a character killer as well. As for Angela Channing... the way FALCON CREST was written, would it even have made a difference?

Abby wasn't like that, she had a heart, and I'm glad Donna fought back. I think having Scott Easton kidnap the twins because of a misunderstanding made sense, because it showed what shady people Abby was interacting with at that time.

ICAM. It was actually fascinating to watch Abby's guilt and fear as she realized what had happened.

I wonder what would have happened if the story had gone on as long as planned. Supposedly they cut the Verna part short because it was too much for fans to deal with.

Really? I've just seen up to the part where Val first goes to the coffee shop and asks for a job. It's hard, tough and sad (and some AMAZING acting from Val) but I don't see why it would be too much for fans to deal with. After all, KL's sixth season was its highest rated (probably because of the kidnapping story).

Val went into a real rut, in terms of story, after that wrapped up, and the show just kept having things happen to her, not having her make her own decisions or choose her own life.

I really don't think so. While you can argue that the Lechowicks had issues when it came to writing Val, the babies provided story all the way through Season 9 and I don't think Val flatlined until Season 12 with that virus thing.

I really don't think so. While you can argue that the Lechowicks had issues when it came to writing Val, the babies provided story all the way through Season 9 and I don't think Val flatlined until Season 12 with that virus thing.

I guess I mostly see the baby story ending when she got them back, then married Ben. Their next story after this was Ben almost cheating with Cathy (hated it), Jean Hackney (HATED it), and then some custody wrangling with Gary which led into the Jill saga. That was entertaining but was mostly done at Val's expense ("poor Val").

I think she just lost her way by that time.

Really? I've just seen up to the part where Val first goes to the coffee shop and asks for a job. It's hard, tough and sad (and some AMAZING acting from Val) but I don't see why it would be too much for fans to deal with. After all, KL's sixth season was its highest rated (probably because of the kidnapping story).

I remember scenes of her looking at herself in a mirror, in lingerie (maybe?), during her mental break, and it was somewhat disturbing to me. There was just something very very sad about the whole thing which may have been too much for some viewers to bear.

Perhaps, if it had been Lance and Melissa's child, or one of her daughter's children by a man she would have thought beneath the Channing/Gioberti family.

Nah she actually liked the Agretti pedigree, but didnt she do it to Julia wirth Father Christopher?

I actually liked that whole twin story, especially the part where all 5 characters ended up in front of the Fisher's house, it was very dramatic

Really? I've just seen up to the part where Val first goes to the coffee shop and asks for a job. It's hard, tough and sad (and some AMAZING acting from Val) but I don't see why it would be too much for fans to deal with. After all, KL's sixth season was its highest rated (probably because of the kidnapping story).

There's a difference between when fans complained that FALCON CREST was being overrun with Nazis (during the Gustav Riebmann plot) and when KL fans complained about Verna. In one case, TPTB were right to end the "Nazi booty" story earlier than scheduled because the story just was too ridiculous even for their standards. (Plus, its quick demise led to what I consider to be FC's overall best arc, w/ Cassandra Wilder and Anna Rossini.) However, when it came to Verna, I think David Jacobs used viewers' complaints merely as an excuse to truncate what already was a difficult story for him. The truth is, if viewers had a hard time with the Verna arc, then I think that particular story was doing its job!

These days, the more I think about KNOTS, the more I realize that not only did the show stray from Jacobs' original intentions but, in the end, it became the kind of show he wasn't altogether capable of running. Just like with Earl Hamner, Jr. and FC, in fact, I feel like Jacobs was much more suited to a show like "Family," which was arguably less sensational than KNOTS or even DALLAS. (Notice, too, that aside from the more grounded first mini-season, Jacobs' involvement with KNOTS' sister show was minimal, at best.) That's why KNOTS seemed to change tone several times throughout its run. The difference between them and FC, though, was that KNOTS generally had better actors and writers. Otherwise, KNOTS easily could've ended up suffering the same fate as FC.

Edited February 12, 201213 yr by Khan

Nah she actually liked the Agretti pedigree, but didnt she do it to Julia wirth Father Christopher?

Yep. She did. Thankfully, too, they dropped that story as soon as Ken Olin left the show.

Khan, I don't believe you! I think the Nazi storyline on Falcon Crest was great. I didn't mind the story being wrapped up early, but overall it was a great umbrella story involving the entire cast and the first time Falcon Crest fulfilled their potential. I think season four as a whole is by far the best season. Seasons Four & Nine are the only ones I think were truly great and well thought out. The first three years were decent, but full of filler and at times dull and plot driven. After season four things just became ridiculous and plot driven.

It's a shame they sign her on permanently. I would've liked to see Ruth and Greg's relationship fleshed out in subsequent seasons.

They probably couldn't afford it, but I wish we'd seen her again.

Claudia Lonow has a new sitcom pilot (behind the camera).

I think for the past three or four seasons Lonow has had a show either on tv or she's booked pilots. She worked on one ABC show this season as well. Not sure which one though.

Joan Van Ark, Ted Shackelford, Patrick Duffy, Don Murray, Michele Lee, Kim Lankford, James Houghton, Constance McCashin, John Pleshette.