KNOTS LANDING

[Khan]

You are correct, sir, lol!

I tried to get into MP, I really did.  In the end, however, I just found it to be a very poorly written and acted show.

[Khan]

I would have brought RS on as a recast Jane Sumner.  God bless Millie Perkins, but she was too mousy to portray Greg's ex-wife, lol.

[Liberty City]

 

[Marco Dane]

Diana deserved that slap from Eric and more from Karen. Total brat and ungrateful.

[titan1978]

I am at the end of Season 4. This really is a great season. Ciji kind of refocused the show into the continuing umbrella storylines that were so strong for them going forward. Her last day is really heartbreaking though- everyone blaming her for their various issues.

I actually enjoyed John Pleshette as Richard much more this time around than ever before. But I am so annoyed with Karen when it comes to Richard. Laura has every right to feel threatened by Richard, and he was awful to Ciji.

Unfortunately Diana is now moving into focal point territory. I think another actor would have made her at least tolerable.

[kalbir]

@titan1978 Seasons 5 and 6 were Knots Landing best seasons. The final 10 episodes of season 6 were the peak of the series for me.

[titan1978]

Five has always been my personal favorite season, but from the time Gary and Abby’s affair begins through the beginning of season 7 when Val gets the twins back is an incredible run of episodes. Peter Dunne really knew how to use that cast and especially how to use Val/Gary/Abby as an engine to power the show. I don’t think any of their other contemporary primetime soaps hold up as well today, and none were better when airing.

[Forever8]

I love how Constance McCashin and William Devane are still close after all these years. 

 

[Soaplovers]

Ah...she lives in Newton!  It's a cute and fairly well off town in MA.

[titan1978]

Started season 5- I have seen all of this more than once and every time I just hate Diana more. But now at the beginning of the season, I think they had an opportunity to play more of a cat and mouse game with Chip and Diana than what we are going to get.

There could still be friction with Karen, but not to the same degree. It makes little sense to me for her to be so fully in Chip’s corner once she knows he was a liar and possibly killed Ciji.

[Chris B]

I just finished season five and I absolutely loved Diana this season. I know she's controversial, but the Karen/Diana relationship had so many ups and downs and she's so similar to Karen that her stubbornness with Chip made sense with what they established. I also thought this story gave us the best performances Michele Lee ever gave us.

I don't know if you've seen the entire season so I won't go into more detail, but I love how this story transformed and ended up. Their reconciliation made it all worth it.

[Khan]

Diana's choice to "stand by her man" might seem outrageous, but - and I think @Vee is the one who has argued this in the past - it makes sense if you believe that Diana has always been an awkward and insecure young woman, who now feels like the luckiest girl in the world, because a handsome young man like Chip (seemingly) loves her.  Karen, however, can't see the situation from her daughter's perspective because, in her eyes, Diana has so much going for herself, and can do a lot better than some sociopathic con man and murderer.

[Vee]

I probably said some of that, sure, though it's more insightful than me, but I think I said that I feel part of it also has to do with her 'drama club kid' teenage complex, seeing the world as self-obsessed theater, and of course losing her father. It's a toxic mix but either way I wanted Diana gone quickly lol.

I do need to get back to the show - I stopped a third of the way through S7 at ep 10 (Joshua's death) so I could try to catch up on Dallas' Dream Season which I intend to watch in tandem, and I've been preoccupied IRL and with movies, etc. I will be back on it soon.

Edited October 8, 2024 by Vee

[titan1978]

I’ve seen the entire series all the way through maybe three times. Not since SoapNet though because it was hard to find on YouTube in its entirety.

I think Michele Lee did her best work in seasons 3 & 4. She really grounds everything while grieving for Sid and then her developing feelings for Mac a year later. I think she is often over the top and hysterical once the Diana/Chip on the run plot begins. I do love the conversation they eventually have where she asks to be treated like a person, not just Diana’s mother, with Diana asking for similar from Karen.

I don’t disagree that Diana would fall for Chip and be under his sway. I just think that maybe she might have lasted another season or two if they hadn’t made her so unlikeable. And part of that would have been a different take on her side of the story.

I think it’s also much more than that though. Once she realizes Diana knows who he is and what he has done, I think her need to control her goes into almost panic mode. Because she and Sid did not raise someone to have those kinds of morals, and she cannot fathom her making her own decisions when these are the choices she’s making. 

[Chris B]

I was pondering Diana's exit once I reached those episodes and now I'm beginning to wonder if they simply didn't need her with Lisa Hartman around as Cathy. From what David Jacobs said, they loved writing for her, so my guess is maybe they just didn't have room for her. You could easily swap Diana for Cathy in the Joshua story, but Hartman was so popular that I imagine that was what sealed the deal.

Another aspect of Diana that I loved was the complicated relationship with Abby. I think between Diana and Olivia, it did a lot to humanize Abby and show different sides of her. Abby couldn't stand Karen, but I love that she didn't try to turn Diana away from Olivia. I feel like an Alexis Carrington would've tried to do something like that, but Abby was reasonable and did love her family.