Knots Landing

[kalbir]

Controversial take here, but I think the Williams family was added on in an attempt to get the African-American audience away from NBC. Think about NBC Thursday in 1987/88: The Cosby Show #1, A Different World 2nd, L.A. Law highest-rated season and that was the season Blair Underwood joined the cast.

Remember too budget mode had kicked in so there was most likely a salary cap and these actresses were probably hired on the cheap.

[yrfan1983]

I always cringe thinking back to the press "Knots Landing's first african-american family!" like it was something to celebrate vs something to be ashamed of, that it took until season 9

[DRW50]

Compared to most primetime soaps, aside from Peyton Place, it was something to celebrate, but that's not saying much.

[Jagger1966]

I remember that article with Lynne Moody.  It was in TV Guide and she said it was frustrating being given so little to do.  And then a few short months later she's killed off.  The cast appeared on a talk show the next season and I remember an audience member asking Larry Riley about that TV Guide article and he said he hadn't read it but if she had said that then the show wouldn't keep her from going somewhere to be happy.  It seemed to be a little shade throwing which then made me wonder just how well the two of them got along.

[Khan]

I don't think that take is controversial at all, @kalbir.  As a matter of fact, it makes PERFECT sense to me.  David Jacobs was very competitive whenever it came to ratings.  If his show couldn't win any awards, he must've figured, then it could beat the competition on the other networks.

That could be true.  On the other hand, judging from the Lechowicks' other shows, I tend to think they were lousy at casting for their own characters, lol.

 

I agree.

[kalbir]

In that vein, we could say the additions of Kevin Dobson and William Devane were to draw the male audience away from Hill Street Blues, and it worked.

[SoapDope]

LOL at Halle Berry was not it. I wonder if Sheryl Lee Ralph may have worked as a potential love interest/wife ? 

 

[Chris B]

Everything she said was true and it was obvious they killed her so they wouldn't have to deal with developing her character. It was easier to keep Frank around because they could give him the role of Mack's friend and give him throwaway love interests.

I do think it's a shame though because the family had such potential. Pat also had great chemistry with Val and Karen. I feel like she would've served the show well to be elevated to the contract cast and maybe kill of Frank instead. 

[Vee]

Jacobs' take on it sounds a bit self-serving and convenient to me - he claimed he always tried to cast as many Black guest actors as possible and had to fight for years to get the Williamses onscreen. I do think Bill Duke's episodes in particular have more actors of color, but I'm not seeing nearly as many as Jacobs claims overall. Such were the times.

[Chris B]

I honestly don't credit Jacobs with the Williams family. I think that was all Lynn Marie Latham and Bernie Lechowick. Even looking at Latham's subsequent work on PC and Y&R (especially Y&R), she seemed to really value diversity so I imagine she was the driving force behind that family. I also think that had she been given free reign she would've developed Pat more. There were so many hints of a future for Pat like her becoming a doctor again and the flirtation with Gary, but it didn't go anywhere. My guess is that they likely got negative feedback at the thought of Gary being paired with Pat.

[Vee]

Yeah, that's why I said it feels very conveniently self-serving.

I loved Lynne Moody on GH and I've heard good things about the characters, so I can't wait to see them.

[SoapDope]

Lynne Moody always looked way younger than her actual age. I was shocked she was born in 1945. I always thought maybe 1953 like Larry Riley. In recent years she reunited with her daugher she had to give up for adoption in 1964. 

[Soaplovers]

I wished that Pat and Abby interacted more..if at all.  I could have seen Pat and Abby having the same dynamic as Abby and Laura did.  

She seemed like she could have easily filled the void left by Laura's departure.  She would have served the same function in Val's life as Laura had (not enabling Val like Karen did).

And I recall one of the conflicts between Frank and Pat was the fact she wanted to go back to being a doctor under her new alias...while Frank kept saying that would blow their cover..pointing out that he became a lawyer instead of a cop like in his previous life.

Pat's death actually hindered any story potential for Frank and Julie..more then opening up story potential.  Since the show was more female driven...perhaps Frank dying at the hands of Danny would have freed up Pat for more story opportunities.

[Jagger1966]

One bright spot to the whole Lynne Moody departure debacle is that after being killed off she ended up winning the Soap Opera Digest Award for Supporting Actress in a Prime Time Soap and I remember her acceptance speech, she was very happy to win because she said she didn't think she would.  I was really happy that she did too.

[DRW50]

The main struggle with Pat is she would have been a complex female figure to write for, and this era of Knots didn't really do that, aside from Paige (and I think some of Paige's complexity is down to Nicolette Sheridan being such a unique presence). Frank was a warm, sympathetic support figure on an increasingly cold show with increasingly played out leads, so I can see his purpose. 

In another era of the show, or a world where a black woman was ever going to get much of a shot in TV at this point, Pat could have been a strong replacement for Laura, I agree.

Edited May 27, 2023 by DRW50