KNOTS LANDING

[Chris B]

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I loved the Jean Hackney plot. I hate that we had to lose Ben, but I found it a suspenseful storyline and I liked how much of the canvas it involved. It was different, but I thought it fit. I also loved how they played Ben's exit into the even better Jill vs Val storyline.

BTW, a bit of trivia is that they *did* try to bring Doug Sheehan back at some point, but were unable to locate him. I wonder how his return would've tied into the show and if it would've possibly replaced the Danny Waleska story which I feel is one of the worst they ever did.

[SoapDope]

I remember reading somewhere she was vocal in the press about how her character was being written and they decided to kill her off. Too bad. She was a good actress and it kind stunted the Williams family storylines. 

 

UGH !!! that Amanda character. What was really the point of all that mess ? I wonder if the character could have been more tolerable with better writing and someone like Ana Alicia in the role instead of Penny Peyser. I also hated Melinda Culea's character on the show. 

If they wanted to torture viewers with annoying characters, they should have just brought back Diana Fairgate...

[Soapsuds]

I'm sure Douglas told them no on a return. Wasn't he unhappy about his character's storyline? 

I don't understand why Diana was let go. She was great on the show!

The writers had no clue how or what to write for Michael and Eric.

[Vee]

Diana was unbearable by the end. Well before, tbh.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Vee

[SoapDope]

Yes. Everyone rooted when Eric slapped the piss out of her at Gary's ranch. 

[titan1978]

If anything he didn’t hit her hard enough.

What happened with Lynne Moody and those characters was a travesty.  I thought they fit in well and I enjoyed all the actors.

[Soaplovers]

Diana in the first three seasons was written with more dimension.  She was the bossy older sister, but she also would call out Karen on her hypocrisy..and she had a few moments here and there where she was nice.

Once she became involved with Chip, any sort of dimension was wiped away.  At the end of her last season..she had become more tolerable living at Abbys, etc....but the character needed a breather.  And it.made sense for her to move to NYC since her love of fashion/design was established in season 3.

And I think Jill could have worked had the show not done the trying to kill Val story.  She could have easily moved into the Sumner group orbit...and she had legit beef with Paige.  Would have been a better rivalry then Linda vs Paige was.

[Khan]

I've never thought about that, @DRW50, but that is an excellent point!

I wish Doug Sheehan had returned in the final season when Gary was searching for Val in Florida.  Ben and Gary could have crossed paths; Ben could have learned that Val was in trouble; and he and Gary could have teamed up to rescue her, burying the hatchet in the process.

I also wish John Pleshette had returned when Mack was arrested for Mary Robeson's murder and needed an attorney.  It might sound strange, but I think he and Michelle Phillips could have made an interesting pair, too.

[Khan]

I agree.  At the very least, the show should have tried finding a new love interest for Frank and mother figure for Julie after an appropriate period of mourning had passed (and no, Halle Berry was not it, lol).  Unfortunately, I don't think anyone at the show was committed anymore to writing for Larry Riley or for Kent Masters-King.  If Riley hadn't have died of AIDS, he probably would've been written out anyway.

I like your suggestion of casting Amanda with Ana-Alicia instead of with Penny Peyser, @SoapDope.  Even if the writing had not changed, at least Ana-Alicia would have been more interesting to watch - and she would have been more Ted Shackelford/Gary's type, too.

[DRW50]

That would have been great (so would the Ben return). They tried to put Anne into a double act with Stuart Pankin but it never really worked for me. 

[Khan]

I agree.

It didn't work for me either, @DRW50.  First of all, the circumstances that brought Anne and "Benita Appleman," as I call him, together reeked.  Anne is broke and homeless? I don't think so, lol.  Second, I think Stuart Pankin was too boorish-acting as Benny.  Why would Anne - even an Anne who was penniless - want anything at all to do with someone like him?  Someone needed to tell Pankin to pull back a bit.

[Khan]

Those were just two of several returns that I had in mind for the "alternate" fourteenth season.  KL knew going in that season 14 would be last, so why not mark the show's passing with return visits from former cast members?  Of course, getting Constance McCashin to return was still out of the question, but for example, you could've had Don Murray return as Sid's "ghost" to counsel Karen during a crisis point in her and Mack's marriage.  Or Julie Harris could've returned for Val's funeral (and seen that Kate has feelings for Gary).  Or Lisa Hartman could've returned (with the excuse that Cathy was passing through California while on her latest tour) and helped Gary see he had to move on from Val.  Or - and this is just me being Ron Carlivati - Alec Baldwin could've returned in the last episode as a prospective buyer for one of the houses in the cul-de-sac.

KL's budget and episode order might have been slashed for the last season, but I would rather they had spent the money on getting some ex-cast members to return for an episode apiece than on more airtime for characters like Nick Schillace and Vanessa Hunt.

One other thing I would have done in season 14: for sure, I would have had Treadwell's men kill off that walking stereotype Nick; Anne would have left town with Richard; and on her flight to wherever she was going, Claudia meets a man who looks a lot like Mark LaMura.

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[yrfan1983]

Knots sadly seemed especially averse to welcoming back beloved former cast members.

They brought back Claudia L and of course Donna M in the last season but I'm struggling to think of anyone else.

[te.]

I don't think they exactly "knew" from the start, even if you argue writing's was on the wall. Shows back then weren't given final seasons - they were produced to go on indefinitively and it likely wasn't until Jacobs & co sat down and talked with CBS late in the season that they realised that there would've been even further cuts for a 15th season, so they decided to end it. I assume that's why there was a bit of a gap between the 17th episode and the final two.

[Vee]

I was under the impression they knew Devane and Nicollette Sheridan were unlikely to be back if they went another year.