On 9/22/2024 at 12:12 PM, Chris B said:

I'm about 5 episodes into season 5 and I must say, I absolutely love Karen and Diana. I know the Diana character is controversial, but I think they have one of the most memorable mother-daughter relationships that I've ever seen on tv. I feel like if this show aired today people would appreciate Diana more. 

Diana was complicated but I also thought she showed a lot of growth throughout her time on the show. I loved the dynamic with Karen and later Mack and her relationship with Abby was great. It would've been interesting to see how she would've interacted with Paige. I also would've liked to see her go to work for Abby. 

I'm glad we got to see the character come full circle in season 14. That was probably my favorite thing about that final season. It was a nice callback to the early years and is something I wish they had also done with Lucy.

Did David Jacobs and the writers feel Diana was too tainted after the conflict with her Mom over Chip or did they run out of storyline ideas ? Dallas dumped Lucy around the same time. 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, SoapDope said:

Did David Jacobs and the writers feel Diana was too tainted after the conflict with her Mom over Chip or did they run out of storyline ideas ? Dallas dumped Lucy around the same time.

It seems like they ran out of ideas. David Jacobs said they purposely challenged her and then pull it back to show her vulnerable sides. Because Karen had the "good" family, it was his way of giving the family conflict.

3 hours ago, SoapDope said:

Did David Jacobs and the writers feel Diana was too tainted after the conflict with her Mom over Chip or did they run out of storyline ideas ? Dallas dumped Lucy around the same time. 

Diana was gone Spring 1984. Lucy first departure Spring 1985. So a year apart.

During my re-watch, I've been going through the old interviews on KnotsLanding.net and there are so many interesting tidbits.

Michael Filerman was the Co-EP with David Jacobs and they were much more involved than I realized. Filerman mentioned that David Jacobs wrote or re-wrote the entire first season. He said Jacobs wanted to create art and he wanted to create trash, so they were a match made in heaven. Filerman created the character of Chip, who was his favorite to write for. He mentioned how great Ann Marcus was and that she created the Ciji character and storyline which was a last minute addition to that season.

Another interesting thing is that he is the one who pitched the Val stolen babies storyline which Jacobs was against. He was trying to boost the ratings and ultimately Jacobs allowed him to tell the story. One thing that was vetoed was Val only getting one of the babies back.

Filerman also revealed that David Jacobs hired John Romano who destroyed the show in season 13. William Devane and Nicollette Sheridan complained which led to him being fired and Ann Marcus and David Jacobs taking over the writing. CBS didn't want the show to end in season 14 so they asked for them to remove two core characters to free the budget up. They hated losing Constance McCashin and Julie Harris and didn't want to go through that again which is why they wrapped the show up.

John Pleshette's interview was also interesting because he had a perspective as a writer and actor on the show. He also mentioned that he created Knots Landing Motors. Originally David Jacobs wanted the show to be completely self contained like Family, but Pleshette thought they needed a business to connect the characters.

He also had very interesting comments about Lynn Marie Latham and her husband Bernie Lechowick. Side note, Lynn Pleshette is John's wife who also happens to be David Jacobs ex-wife.

Quote

AS: What did you think of the Lechowicks?

JP: I can’t stand them. I think they’re awful people. They were about to move back to Texas because they had been struggling so long. They were in contact with Lynn (Pleshette) and asked her is there anything you can find for us? Lynn met with them and she talked to David and they went from having no career to running the show.

Lynn was their agent and she got a big deal for them, but one day they said, “We need a bigger deal” and got someone else (to represent them). I had been writing for the show and they gave me a hard time every time I worked on it. That’s what happens when you have a husband and wife team or two people together, it becomes difficult. They were also kind of disliked by the people on the show; the writers they hired liked them but not many else.

AS: What did you think of their creative style?

JP: I think when the show started it tried to be about something. Don Murray had been accused of rape, Constance was actually raped, there were a lot of issues. By the time the Lechowicks took over it really had become a soap opera. Rich people in soap operas don’t deal with issues; the problems of real people aren’t sensationalistic and lurid. I think the Lechowicks had a certain playfulness but the show got more tawdry as it went on.

AS: You worked with them in my favorite Knots episode, “Birds Do It, Bees Do It.”

JP: Yes and that was the last one I ever did. Bernie told me with great glee that he had written it in two days. That’s not what you want to hear as a writer. (Laughs) For (Birds Do It) every one of the ideas I had to make it funnier was shot down. The only thing I got through was when we had Karen wearing a trenchcoat over sexy lingerie and in one scene I found a young woman who looked like Michele with the same height. So we had her walk past Michele in the hallway, both wearing trenchcoats. That was something I was able to slip through.

Then in that show we had Michael, he went camping and he’s going to make it with this girl. The Lechowicks, they were totally PC people, they had to show that if he was going to have sex that he took out the contraceptives and was being responsible. So I showed Michael with a pack of like five rubbers. I wanted to show him take four out and put one back but they wouldn’t allow it.

But there was a funny story with Michael in those scenes. Remember the part when all the kids he was with fantasized over their favorite stars? They were talking about Julia Roberts and the girls said Mel Gibson was whom they wanted to be with. Well it turned out that Mel Gibson was shooting on a neighboring stage. I was able to get in touch with him and asked him as a joke if he would come over and surprise the actors when we were shooting that scene. So we got Mel Gibson to come over to the set. We put him into a backpack and hiking gear so he would fit in with the scene. And the girls were totally unaware of this even though word had gotten out and we had 3 times as many crewmembers hanging around the shoot. When the time came there was a knock on the door and they just died when he walked on the set. They loved it; he even got a girl to sit on his lap. We shot all that. It was great.

AS: Why didn’t it make it on the air?

JP: Well legally we couldn’t do that. We would have had to pay him and it would have been a big deal. I think it might be on an actor’s reel somewhere. But that was my swan song.

AS: Why did it end that way?

JP: They were furious that I criticized the script. They were infuriated by attempts to make it funnier. I think that show could have been funnier.

Edited September 24, 20241 yr by Chris B

I remember that Pleshette interview, lol.

The wonderful advantage of sites like that one and Tommy Krasker's blog is both got extensive interviews with staff and cast while they were still here, including Krasker talking to Richard Gollance. You do get the sense depending on who you ask that Filerman might have his own POV and version of events, but I guess everyone does.

I guess Marcus either came up with the Ciji pitch before leaving or lingered into Season 4 longer than we knew.

Edited September 24, 20241 yr by Vee

What I thought was interesting about Tommy's blog was that he asked Richard Gollance if they intended to reunite Gary and Val...and he said 'nope..they would tease it..but ultimately wouldn't reunite them.'

Claudia and Kate could have easily been cut to ensure a season 15.  

I recall a female POC was introduced in season 14 named Toni..and it seemed like more was planned for her.  She was going to work with Mack and Peggy as an attorney and was shown in one scene on a blind date. What could have been

The entire first season on sale $14.99 digital.

My guess is that the actors playing Claudia and Kate didn’t make enough to make enough of a dent in the budget. They likely would have had to cut longtime vets like Ted Shackelford and William Devane.

The William Devane Exclusive Interview Sep 2024 (knotslanding.net)

From this interview, I get the impression that William Devane was on his way out and would not have returned had there been a season 15.

At the start of the final season, the longest-tenured main cast members were Michele Lee, Ted Shackelford, Kevin Dobson, and William Devane and during the final season all but Michele Lee had their episodes cut. Michele Lee took a pay cut to appear in all episodes of the final season.

If Knots Landing had season 15 in Fall 1993 it would have looked old school next to peak 90210, Melrose about to take off, and new drama NYPD Blue.

@kalbir that Devane interview was very interesting. never knew about Dobson coming onto the show because of a contract obligation. I guess they were planning a new male character and he was a good fit. Otherwise he might have ended up elsewhere. 

Maybe as Mike Hammer on that series.

It's hard for me to imagine what a S15 would have looked like in light of the changing TV landscape.  As @kalbir said, KL would have looked old school next to the Aaron Spelling shows and "NYPD Blue."  But it's possible that William Devane would have left (and that Greg would have left Paige standing at the altar or some business) or that Ted Shackelford would have left with the explanation that Gary had moved back to Texas with the twins (and Kate).  That would have left Michele Lee, Kevin Dobson, Michelle Phillips, MAYBE Kathleen Noone (although, with Devane and/or Stacy Galina gone, there wouldn't have been much for her to do) and, of course, Nicollette Sheridan.  Under those circumstances, you'd almost have to reboot the show, lol.

Edited September 28, 20241 yr by Khan

5 hours ago, Khan said:

It's hard for me to imagine what a S15 would have looked like in light of the changing TV landscape.  As @kalbir said, KL would have looked old school next to the Aaron Spelling shows and "NYPD Blue."  But it's possible that William Devane would have left (and that Greg would have left Paige standing at the altar or some business) or that Ted Shackelford would have left with the explanation that Gary had moved back to Texas with the twins (and Kate).  That would have left Michele Lee, Kevin Dobson, Michelle Phillips, MAYBE Kathleen Noone (although, with Devane and/or Stacy Galina gone, there wouldn't have been much for her to do) and, of course, Nicollette Sheridan.  Under those circumstances, you'd almost have to reboot the show, lol.

Minus Sheridan... she wanted to leave originally after season 13 and the show convinced her to stay one more season.

If the show had opted to continue into S15, Devane/Sheridan leaving would have freed up the budget... but there would have been another revamp of the show for sure.

Most likely, it would have been more like a combination of a family drama and/or legal procedural in soap opera format.

David Jacobs said at the time that he had thought about proposing a revamp to CBS with Karen, Mack, Gary, and Valene, plus a new set of neighbors. I honestly don’t know what more they could have done with Gary and Val at that point. I could have seen Karen and Mack as the stable couple, but I don’t think you really needed the Ewings at that point.

Did Rosemary Prinz make any impression as Sylvia Warren? I think she was on a couple of eps in Season 2?

Just interested to see what those who recently watched thought of a daytime soap legend in a guest appearance.

I remember her. I thought she was a pistol and commented on it somewhere in here but I can't recall what I said, really.