KNOTS LANDING

[Khan]

Of course, I absolutely think you're correct in that Abby had strong ties to all of the original characters...but I also see DM's POV as well.  Not that a (used?) car dealership can't provide grist for the conflict mill - if you can wrench drama from a real estate contest (hi, "Glengarry Glen Ross"!), you can wrench drama from anything - but on the face of things, a setting like Knots Landing Motors isn't glamorous as Ewing Oil, or the Channing/Gioberti vineyards, or even that ad agency on "Melrose Place" that no business in its' right mind should have hired.

For the most part, the Lechowicks maintain that balance - expect to hear and see a lot of scenes of parents dropping off/picking up their kids from school or daycare! - but as with everything else, the motives are different.  When Ann Marcus or Peter Dunne write those slice-of-life moments, it's to reveal character.  When the Lechowicks do it, it's to push along the plot.

She's not wrong.  As a matter of fact, I could see Karen and Val watching "Desperate Housewives" and laughing at how absurd it all is without ever realizing the irony, lol.

IMO, it was harder to keep Abby human, because Abby had accomplished what she'd set out to do, which was to have power.  Once you have power, what else is there to do but to acquire more power; and in order to do that, you have to go over and above what you've done before.  At a certain point, you stop rooting for someone like Abby.  Instead, you're rooting for her to fail.

Edited August 29, 2024 by Khan

[te.]

I think most of all from Abby's point of view there was no way she was going to settle with being the accountant for a car dealership! From the first moment she stepped on the lane, it was fairly obvious she had higher ambitions in life than suburban life with a nice, but boring job. 

I guess Abby could've gotten Anne's homeless plot? Though she wouldn't have been as hopelessly bad at it... 

[Khan]

Exactly.  She left her first husband, because she was tired of being a PTA mom who sat and clipped coupons all afternoon while her husband went off to work and controlled everything.  What she saw in Gary - aside from the Ewing name and the millions he stood to receive - was the potential to be big fishes in a very big pond.  But I loved the fact that Abby had some kind of business/accounting background that accounted for her ability to move up the corporate ladder.  A far, far cry from Paige, whose ascendance at the Sumner Group (and at a relatively early age) remains a mystery to me.

Abby would have HATED having to start over, but she'd know that she had what it took.  Like she famously intimated to Paige, Abby knew how to survive without a trust fund.

[All My Shadows]

I’m loving these conversations btw

I think I’ll like Sumner more when I watch his natural integration into the cast of characters and really see the gradual opening up of the show. I do think 3-6 will always be the Knots I turn to, which is no surprise bc I think those are my preferred seasons for most long-running soapy dramas I watch, namely Little House and Degrassi: TNG at the moment. Once a show sheds the complete earnestness and embraces a little messiness, it’s at peak soapy goodness (a term I know we hate).

Abby’s introduction driving into the cul-de-sac with Olivia and Brian making all of that unnecessary ass noise in the backseat of her station wagon is so crazy considering the heights she attains in her nine seasons on the show. Yall are right - the slow but steady progression of these characters (obvi the women in particular) might be the defining characteristic of Knots. Gosh, I can’t wait to watch it all.

Edited August 29, 2024 by All My Shadows

[Soaplovers]

Donna Mills has an idea of where Abby would be if there was a reboot....  'Abby is homeless' where the viewer would watch her try to claw her way out of that situation.   

I would watch it... to see how Abby copes.

 

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Also, when I was watching season 10... Abby came to Seaview Circle for a gathering after Michael/Paige were rescued.. and she still fit in seamlessly.  She was comforting Val, had uneasy tension with Karen, and even had a nice scene with Julie Williams talking about Spelling Bees.   Abby never forgot where she had been before making it to the top.  It's why she was such staying power even in the 2020s.

[titan1978]

Abby’s conversation with Olivia before she leaves in season 10 is the last glimpse we got of early Abby. She did all the coupon clipping and the attempt at being fulfilled as a housewife, and it was suffocating for her. She tries to make Olivia see that she will probably suffer the same fate playing house with Howie. And points out the differences- Abby wasn’t able to skip that part, she struggled. Olivia has never struggled with making ends meet or truly having no safety net while also not having her wants and needs fulfilled. That’s why she takes everything from her- it’s part control and part the lesson that Olivia needs to start being strong enough to face her choices. 
 

Olivia clearly thinks it’s only about control, but I think it was deeper than that. Mills plays it like she knows best and also that she sees her own choices at that age and how much that left her unchallenged and unfulfilled.

Has anyone had time to check and see if the episodes that didn’t air or the wrong one aired has been fixed?

[All My Shadows]

I just checked “A Change of Heart,” and they have the correct S5 description but the S7 episode plays instead.

[dragonflies]

I found a work around to watch on FIRE TV. I had to do a search for Knots Landing, click on that option for the show, then "Seasons & Episodes" then "watch with ads" and it works 

[Vee]

All of Knots is now up on Plex.

They've also put all of Falcon Crest up on demand.

Edited August 29, 2024 by Vee

[SoapDope]

The only thing I dislike about Plex is all the ads. If you jump ahead to a scene or want to play a scene it's ads galore (like 6 in a row).

I watched a few season 3 & 4 episodes today. Just some random thoughts.

Poor Laura still bound to gross Richard after his kidnapping/attempted suicide.

Gary cheating on Val right in front of her eyes and she still tries to look the other way. There's even a scene where Gary walks right out in front of her to go to Abby across the street to see if she had a date with another man.

Gary treating Val like crap over her book pisses me off. Gary was a SOB and I'm glad Rusty beat the piss out of him. 

Joan Van Ark had some serious chemistry with Sonny Shroyer. She kind of comes across smitten with him.

Mac the loud bull dog arrives in season 3 chewing scenery. 

Larry Hagman appears as J.R in 2 episodes in season 3 marking the end of his crossover appearances. I wish they had done a storyline in the later years of Knots that involved Gary & Val where they thought Greg or somebody was behind it, but in the end it was J.R. screwing with them and Val screams her guts out when it is revealed. 

Diana Fairgate....UGH !!!!

 

[Vee]

Mack arrives in Season 4.

[SoapDope]

You are correct. I had season 3 still stuck in my head. J.R. last appears in season 4 as well. 

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[Chris 2]

JR’s appearance in season 4 is fantastic, especially the book signing scene.

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[Vee]

I think it's a real shame J.R. never returned after S4 (or Abby never went with Gary to Dallas).

[Liberty City]

Larry Hagman and Donna Mills had powerful chemistry. Wow.

It's about damn time!