Knots Landing

[j swift]

Gary was a study in contradictions, (not the least of which were that he was an environmentalist who bought a ranch that required an hour commute by car to his office and his kids), but he looked great in boxers

[Soapsuds]

He was hot as hell. Those times he was in bed nicely tucked in with only his boxers on.

I liked Joshua too. Talk about a hairy chest.

[Bright Eyes]

I saw that! I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I've seen every clip on his page, and commented here and there. Always a joy to see what will come next. Memory lane, the analyses, and best of all, the clips from works (the miniseries especially) I'd never heard of or performances from actors I barely knew before seeing them on his page.

[Soapsuds]

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[Khan]

For me, the biggest flaw in the Empire Valley storyline is that the emotional stakes that made an otherwise incomprehensible story like the Wolfbridge Group so palpable just weren't there.  Nearly everyone was affected by Wolfbridge, but Empire Valley seemed to pull the focus away from what mattered.

I don't think Ann Marcus gets enough credit for salvaging s13 -- not just from the disaster that that season had been, but also from the latter half of the Lechowicks' tenure, when the show became more about shocking viewers, and less about telling moving stories.  For the first time in years, KNOTS felt real and grounded again.

[SoapDope]

Teri Austin interview from last month. 

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[Vee]

It's been a looong time coming, but here's some hopefully not too pretentious thoughts on some of the closing eps of KL Season 6 (my last is all the way back on page 121). I finished it some weeks ago but have been meaning to synthesize these notes for a long while now; life, work and health got in the way. I'm splitting these up again because there's just a little too much to say for one post.

Ep 24 (A Man of Good Will):

• The first writing credit for the now famous or infamous Latham/Lechowick duo, depending on who you ask. It's also got a female director (Linda Day) and has an early, startling image of Abby who - after biting off more than she can chew confronting some of the Empire Valley men - prancing out of their offices in a gigantic fur with plucky music playing, which is an interesting tonal note. Her determination to get Galveston's papers is left ambiguous for some time; does she want them simply to protect herself, or to help Val in the inevitable endgame with the babies? Or both?
• The phone wiretap/information warfare subplot in this episode with Sumner and a surprisingly-not-bald Stephen Tobolowosky hacking Gary's credit rating is, like a lot of the EV story, bracingly modern and way ahead of its time, but also a bit too James Bond and episodic, feeling like a weekly supervillain scheme. But Gary/Abby and Greg/Laura as dueling couples is always great fun. 
• Cathy's amazing blue spandex? pleather? outfit while singing "We Belong Together" is a certified Lewk, as the kids say. But Lisa Hartman is really so much better an actress than simply playing the increasingly-put upon woman. I understand why it happens to Cathy over and over given her background and history we became privy to last season (groomed and abused by her first, older spouse) but I would've liked to see her grow further beyond it like most of the women on the show have over the years and elevate herself while staying on the sow, and we know Cathy doesn't have much further to run post-Joshua.
• You can see early suggestions of what the L&L team might do with the show here in various material; the rapid-fire patter between Laura and the rarely-seen Jason about his school science project is idiosyncratic but also a smart way to illustrate her moral dilemma re: Greg's machinations with Gary, while also allowing Constance McCashin's deadpan wit to shine. Sumner has a great, enlightening line in this hour too about dogs: "They don't have any conscience. Do you suppose that's why they're man's best friend?" The dialogue is also more informal and loose in various places across the board; Mack saying 'que paso,' one of the kids saying 'mellow out, dude' IIRC, and there's a move to more and more domestic cul-de-sac vignettes like Laura's home and the MacKenzies, which is much appreciated.
• A prime example of this which also leads into a lovely subplot: Eric and Michael watching a Western with the sound off while the boys grouse about Knots Landing Motors. Eric doesn't want to be keeper of Sid's flame anymore, wants to sell, and this leads to the wonderful, tender scene with him and Karen at Sid's grave. Steve Shaw actually sells a very good monologue about wearing his father's coveralls for too long, while Michele Lee simply, gracefully replaces Sid's flowers and sets him free. "Hey, you need a haircut."
• I know some things about future stories, but not a ton. That's why I was absolutely floored at the close of this ep when Gary and Abby, brought low by Greg's schemes, are on the verge of selling Empire Valley... only to discover Galveston left Gary everything. I was shocked and the look on Abby's face alone is priceless. What an ending.

Ep 25 (For Better, For Worse):

• It was nice to see Greg finally lose his studied cool over his father's will: "I can't believe he did this to me!" It's important we get to see him finally undone, and Laura clearly enjoys it too, asking him why he's not laughing his way through it: "I especially admire your coolness under pressure." God bless Constance McCashin.
• The fallout from the will reveal extends to a favorite scene of mine: The Ewings having a family meeting about their major financial windfall at a local fast food diner. Gary and the kids are super into it, while a teeth-grinding Abby is waiting on lobster. When she finally breaks and begs for champagne and caviar, Gary is indulgent and gets her: "Wild extravagance, is that what you want?" Abby: "Yes, please!" Gary relents, but not before buying the entire restaurant double cheeseburgers - you can't take the rancher out of the cul-de-sac, and it perfectly merges the two worlds of the show. I loved it. I also loved Abby later taunting Greg about being his new landlord, while he offers her arsenic on the rocks.
• I do love how we keep seeing Val getting back to her writing, jotting away on notepads in every funky perch and corner of her house amidst the various domestic scenes as Joshua's grip on the family tightens. His latest TV sermon randomly brings up the polluted town of Wesphall and the Galveston development there, espousing the corporatist deep-state gospel of Empire Valley. This stunned me as well as both Ben and Abby; where was he getting that from? Who was in his ear?
• In her pursuit of Dr. Ackerman, Karen has now spent multiple episodes investigating every bridge tournament across the West Coast of the United States and possibly points east. This is a unique and baffling narrative choice. There is a very funny bit where her endless quest-by-phone continues in the background of a home scene where Michael and Mack are working on his school photography project, only for Karen to wreck it before finally jetting off to Vegas for yet more bridge.
• This episode, I think, marks the first appearance of a brief new subplot, namely Eric's new girlfriend Whitney who happens to be Black, something he's nervous about given the era. The family takes it in stride, but there's a nice bit to come with it in the next episode. Val and Laura both look real thrilled to be walking down the aisle for Cathy and Joshua in this one, while Cathy bucks Joshua's conservative choice for her wedding gown and shows up in her own. But a horse drawn carriage, really? Also of note: Val catching the bouquet and trading a look with Ben.
• Sumner finally takes Greg to meet the ominous Men in Black Suits this week to tell him the truth about Empire Valley, and he later meets the strange and imposing Coblenz, who positions himself as the 'good guy' government liaison monitoring Empire Valley. This seems like an obvious con, but from hereon Gary is officially part of the EV conspiracy and encouraged to lie to his loved ones.

Episode 26/27 (Four, No Trump/A Price to Pay):

Abby: You know I do what I have to do to get what I want. But I don't do this.

• They never fail to show Abby caring for her children, and as paranoia mounts for the Ewings and a questionable car accident runs the kids off the road in 26 (possibly an intimidation tactic against Gary by Coblenz and Empire Valley) her guilt eats away at her, leading to her great scene with Greg this week with the above quote as she confesses all about Val and the babies. A brilliant note they didn't have to play but do is how she opens by bringing up Jeff stealing her kids a few seasons ago - I hadn't even thought of it. She clarifies finally for the audience that she wants the babies back with Val, which is so important and of a piece wih how their handling of Abby's involvement in this story has been so deft and smart from the beginning - thank God Donna Mills made sure she would not be fully culpable. Unfortunately for Abby, Greg already has Galveston's incriminating pages (of course).
• Karen finally catching up to Ackerman and confronting him is a bit unsettling, if relevant to our times; his wide-eyed, thousand-yard stare and rising anger is genuinely frightening as he denies everything and spouts on about her 'profaning the sacredness of his work.' How many times have we heard men wax messianic about interfering with women's bodies in the last few years?
• Ben and Val have a lot of aggressive sensuality throughout these episodes as they canoodle with a giant tub of ice cream, an intriguing comparison study to Gary and Abby - just because Val's story has centered around motherhood and making or losing a family does not diminish her as a sexual being. But Val can't sleep at Ben's because she keeps waking up to feed her missing babies, and finally admits to Karen that she knows they're alive. This is presented more as a character beat for Joan Van Ark than simply plot, which keeps the show grounded. This extends further into Episode 27, another David Jacobs-helmed episode, where the commitment to Ben and Val is once again reinforced; they gleefully ditch Joshua's big family dinner (with Joshua now coldly freezing newlywed Cathy out for sex), cruise around in gorgeous exterior shots with voice-over, then duet on piano before finally dancing together at home to, uh, "Send in the Clowns"? Weird choice. But this show still has so much atmosphere and character texture than Dallas even for smaller moments like these, while Dallas remains purely, nakedly plot-schematic at this point in its run.
• After Ben proposes we Val wandering in the night surf on the beach, then finally confessing to him she can't marry him with the baby issue unresolved. Jacobs gives us another of his typically stunning tableaus here, with them embracing on the rocks in the morning sun. It seems clear the show has picked its lane with these characters throughout the latter half of Season 6, but we know that will change.
• I waxed rhapsodic about it in one of my recent rambling posts which feel like ten years ago, but the Ruth Galveston story seems to have run aground - all Ruth and Laura do at this point is snipe at each other, while Ruth grooms Abby to be Gary's rightful mate. But more on that soon. They do get one great exchange when a post-coital Laura comes to breakfast in Ep 27:

Ruth: You look very self-satisfied this morning.

Laura: Self had nothing to do with it.

• I will admit I laughed at Mack's perhaps not-well-aged crack about Eric's girlfriend Whitney: "Guess who's coming to dinner?" But the truth is the show handles it fairly well, I think; Whitney's race is never actually explicitly mentioned, because Eric is the only one nervous or upset about it at all. His parents don't care, and this leads to a lovely scene with Lilimae. "I didn't know you were so old-fashioned," she laughs. "There's no problem, Eric. You just have to throw away the poison." Unfortunately I'm not sure we ever see Whitney again, who seemed like a lovely girl. Another love interest for Eric falls by the wayside!
• Speaking of Eric, nepo babies strike again as Abby tells Karen she'll okay 'your Eric' becoming assistant operations manager at Lotus Point. I'm not sure college boy Eric, cute though he is, is qualified to run herd on a development that size, but okay!
• Teri Austin debuts as a one-off character in Ep 27 as Jill Bennett, who I understand we will be seeing much more of for years to come. She instantly has a spark with Kevin Dobson, who lets Mack flirt a bit. You can see why they brought her back if this was really intended for a one-off - Jacobs goes in for close-ups on her. Greg intervening to try to lure Mack back into the fold with a Senate run is intriguing.
• Almost certainly a William Devane improv: Greg snapping at his loud dog to shut up when Gary drives up to the Galveston ranch. I cracked up. But I was surprised that he was already onto the Fisher family, which closes Ep 26.

More to come! (Shortly, I promise.)

Edited October 18, 2023 by Vee

[yrfan1983]

Love it! Welcome back and can't wait for more.

Re: Teri Austin's one-off ep, she discusses it on the podcast in the above post! Thanks @SoapDope for posting that. 

Teri was friendly with David Jacobs from when they worked on a Canadian production, and when she moved to LA, she had lunch with him, and he said "hey, you don't happen to be free next week...? We have this small role..." and the rest is history.

When you finish season 7, I'll fill you in on how a TV Guide article at the time changed the trajectory of Teri's career...

[kalbir]

@Vee Love your recaps. The final 10 episodes of 1984/85 season were the peak of Knots Landing to me. 

Laura/Ruth rivalry was everything. I lived for the scenes where Laura called out Ruth and put her on blast.

I think Ava Gardner appeared in the right amount of episodes. Ruth's story arc felt complete to me.

Ava Gardner arc on Knots Landing was quite the contrast to Lana Turner arc on Falcon Crest. Ava was by all accounts well-liked by Knots Landing cast whereas Lana was allegedly throwing diva demands during her Falcon Crest arc. Remember too that Ava admitted that she took the part on Knots Landing for money so she was really in no position to throw diva demands.

William Devane mentions Ava Gardner in this interview: https://www.avclub.com/william-devane-on-the-grinder-24-alfred-hitchcock-an-1798285513

[Vee]

Oh, I haven't seen that interview in years. Before this show I knew Devane best from 24. I had no idea he'd lost the Sam Malone role on Cheers.

[Khan]

In his Archive of American Television interview, James Burrows talks briefly about William Devane's audition.  He says that Devane was "very good" and that he brought an "old sage" quality to Sam that would have been interesting to watch.  They really wanted to cast Devane, too, more than they did Fred Dryer, who certainly had Sam's swagger, but who was very inexperienced at that point.  However, everyone involved in the process - Burrows, Glen & Les Charles, their agents, the brass at NBC and at Paramount - agreed that the chemistry between Ted Danson and Shelley Long was just too undeniable.

(Also of note: years ago, I read that Devane chose to perform barefoot at his audition, which turned out to be an unfortunate choice, because he accidentally stepped on a broken glass but carried on with the audition anyway.  IIRC, Burrows and the Charles brothers were more than a little freaked out about that, lol.)

The first time I saw that ending, I thought, "Wow, what an odd way to wrap up an episode."  But that was the Lechowicks for you: always turning left when story logic says go right.

I tend to go back and forth on my opinions about the Lechowicks and their work on KL.  On the one hand, at a time when the other primetime soaps were getting stale, they smartly infused KL with more humor, more irreverence, more unpredictability, so that you, as a viewer, never knew what to expect from one episode to the next.  On the other hand, however, it's only in retrospect that you realize: 1) the Lechowicks adopted a reductive and less nuanced view of the characters that really hurt the show in the long run; and 2) they leaned too often on their narrative tricks, especially in the latter part of their run, to camouflage illogical plotting - and on a show like KL that became more plot-driven as time went on, that could be very exasperating to experience.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Khan

[Vee]

I thought it was a pretty good twist, tbh. And it re-invigorated the story for a good stretch for me, but I would assume it wasn't their actual idea as they were mere staff writers at that time under the outgoing Dunne team. They simply got that week's script for that plot.

[Khan]

I thought so, too!  It was just so out of left field that it almost gave me whiplash, lol!

[Wendy]

I just saw William Devane doing some Medicare ad. I barely recognized him [but then, I still have the vision of his younger self in my head!], but his voice was unmistakable.

[Soapsuds]

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