Knots Landing

[Khan]

IIRC, the last time we saw Jeff Cunningham, Abby, through some deputy, served him with a restraining order, barring him from seeing Olivia and Brian again or else he would face charges.  I don't remember what happened to Jeff after that, or whether the restraining order was allowed to lapse, but, yeah, I think there were several occasions when he could've returned.

For instance, Jeff could've shown up during Olivia's battle with drugs.  That is, if Abby ever allowed Jeff to be notified (and I doubt she would've).  I wonder what role he might've played in Olivia's recovery or even in Peter Hollister's death, since Abby and Olivia both were considered suspects.

Jeff also could've returned during Olivia's relationship drama with Harold.  For once, he and Abby would've been on the same side, agreeing that Harold was "bad news" and that Olivia was better off without him.  And even though Abby would've hated doing it, I even could see her and Jeff concocting some scheme to have Harold arrested and/or Olivia leave town with her dad, too.

For sure, Jeff should've been there after Olivia had attempted suicide.  I can just see it now: Karen notifies Jeff about Olivia; Jeff returns to Knots Landing to be with his daughter; Abby discovers Karen was the one who notified him; Karen (who, IIRC, wasn't entirely unsympathetic toward Jeff when Abby had double-crossed him years before) tells Abby that Olivia's father had a right to know what had happened; Abby tells Karen, "He gave up that right when he tried to take her and Brian away from me.  I told you before, Karen: no one hurts me."

The thing is, KNOTS wasn't entirely averse to bringing back characters.  Remember Mary Frances Sumner?  Unfortunately, the Lechowicks were the ones who brought her back; and not only was she almost entirely different from what she was before (and I'm not talking just physical appearances either), but like everyone else during the Lechowicks' run, she was there only long enough to service the plot; and when she had serviced it, they dispatched with her in the ugliest way possible.

[SoapDope]

I agree. It would be something that Karen would do notifying Jeff. Abby did interfere with Diana and Karen, so it would be another payback along with Olivia's drug problem.  

I never saw what David Jacobs did in Stacy Galina. They brought her back to the show after Jacobs expressed regret killing her off. Then again for the 1997 reunion. 

[Soapsuds]

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[SoapDope]

Abby was always referring to Val as suburban. In the 1997 reunion she walks into the Ewing home and tells Gary " I've always loved this room, it so suburban. 

 

[Chris B]

I thought the way Mary Frances was handled was awful. Even with the way they changed her character, I don't understand why they didn't just keep her around instead of the bland look-a-like. I also wasn't fond on Kathleen Noone's character who I feel they didn't know what to do with. I think the show would've been better served making Robin Strasser a regular and moving her into the cul-de-sac. 

Another missed opportunity I felt was Sid's daughter Annie. She could've come back around season 8 or 9 and since she was now an adult, they could've taken her anywhere they wanted to. She also could've been a contender to replace Abby and would've likely had a similar relationship with Karen. 

The ultimate missed opportunity has to be Lucy. I get Charlene Tilton wasn't the greatest actress, but when she returned for her second run she had greatly improved and the way they wrote Lucy was much better but it never went anywhere. My ideal fancasting for her would've been in Vanessa Hunt's role in season 14. It would've made sense for her to move back once Val died to help Gary with the twins and the Vanessa aspect would've been easy to slot her into since she was a globetrotter and we didn't have much info on what she did when out of Dallas. I also think it would be interesting how she handled being around Gary and Kate considering she always had a contentious relationship with him.

[SoapDope]

It never made sense to totally ignore Lucy after the first few years of Knots. I read that Joan thought it aged her too much to have the constant reminder that she was the mother to a grown woman....LOL

 

[Khan]

That was one thing that I did not like about Abby.  I could understand why, to her, "suburban" equaled "dull," but to me, it always sounded as if Abby was judging Val just because she happened to prefer that lifestyle.  The thing is, Abby should have understood more than anyone how much work went into being a suburban mom, especially when you have no spouse on hand to help you.  Then again, as Mary Jo Shively points out in one episode of "Designing Women," it has always been the "stay-at-home moms" vs. "working moms."  Maybe, in their own, subtle way, KL was attempting to reflect that.  *shrug*

I struggle all the time with how Charlene Tilton or Lucy could have fit permanently on KNOTS.  As it was, even DALLAS' producers had a hard time coming up with anything for her.  In the end, I feel like David Jacobs might have been right and that Lucy was just too "big" of a character to work on a comparatively more realistic show like KNOTS.

Edited January 11, 2024 by Khan

[SoapDope]

Yes, there has always been that battle of stay at home vs working mom. I guess Abby saw herself at as "A Lady Of The 80's" who felt she could have it all and thought Val was still stuck in a time warp. Housewives were still a thing in the 80's and 90's, but I'm not sure how many exist in 2024. Those women who call themselves as housewives on those trashy reality shows do not count....LOL

Jacobs always felt the Dallas characters never fit in on middle class Knots. Another factor was Charlene was a limited actress. On Dallas her storylines sucked pretty much and she was isolated from the main action most of the time. When they had her marry Mitch it was like " What do we do with them now ?" 

If they had moved Lucy & Mitch to Knots after they married, they would have probably had something gross like Diana Fairgate having an affair with Mitch and catfighting with Lucy. ( Claudia and Charlene's piss poor acting would have stunk things up). McCloskey wasn't that great of an actor either. He always sounded like he was reciting Shakespeare. 

 

 

[Paul Raven]

Maybe Lucy should have been brought in for limited runs or at important story beats.

The message could have been that sometimes there isn't a happy ending and too much damage had been inflicted on Lucy for her to be a regular part of Gary and Val's lives.

A bittersweet moment.

Because for her to be forgotten/ignored was amiss.

[SoapDope]

Lucy could have moved in with her Mom after Lillimae was gone instead of Aunt Ginny to help take care of the twins. Lucy could have had a fling with Eric Fairgate since she was divorced from Mitch a second time. 

[Chris 2]

Lucy the character and the actress were poor. KL didn’t need her stinking the place up. What they should have done was kill her off, cremate the remains and then send them to the moon. So she could never, ever come back.

[Franko]

Not too long ago, I wondered what would have happened if they moved Mitch to Knots Landing starting in 1982-83, after he had divorced Lucy (and as Gary and Val were divorcing). Ultimately, they didn't need another young man, since they had Chip (and it's not like Kenny was getting a plethora of airtime), but it was still a thought I had.

There actually was at least one scene which all but acknowledged that anything Lucy had with at least Val was gone. Karen was worrying about being estranged from one of her kids and asked Val about the last time she talked with Lucy. Val admitted it was so long ago, she couldn't remember.

[SoapDope]

Lucy was just kind of pointless really. They burned through her backstory of being taken from her parents and acting out by the end of season 2. The producers/writers probably liked Charlene as a person, but they knew if they gave her a lot of heavy material she couldn't handle it. That scene after Mickey dies and she runs out of the house hitting Ray was just laughable. Not to mention the scene where she was taking drugs and Sue Ellen falls down the stairs and she is hovering over her. 

They could have Lucy pull a Karen Wolek. Tired of doing without luxuries she was accustomed to and forced to live on Mitch's salary. She starts " Entertaining" men during the day while Mitch is at work. Then some guy dies in her bed and things get ugly. I'm surprised they didn't do that type of story with Laura. She slept with Chip Todson to help Richard make business connections. Maybe when Richard got them into debt she started entertaining men on the side. She would lie and say she was selling beauty or home products. 

[Liberty City]

I need this to be on streaming; saw clips from the addiction storyline of Abby's daughter, and OMG I need to see this series. Cmon, MAX, put the remaster up!

[Soapsuds]

I doubt Max will upload the remastered Knots episodes when done. They still haven't uploaded the Dallas HD episodes.

Knots is streaming online but not in HD.