27 minutes ago, Franko said:

I'm getting a kick out of Ruth being an unapologetic Abby and Greg shipper. 

Ava Gardner was everything! I always point out that the final 10 episodes of season 6 were peak Knots Landing and Ava Gardner arc played a big part of that.

Knots Landing isn't the type of soap we'd expect to see a messy wealthy matriarch that tries to control her son's life but Ruth didn't feel out of place at all and I think her story was complete in the episodes that she was in. I loved the scenes where Laura called out Ruth and put her on blast. It's so funny that Ruth preferred villainess Abby over the more virtuous Laura as the ideal mate for Greg.

 

1 hour ago, All My Shadows said:

Even though KL predated Golden Girls, it's another female ensemble that (very very loosely) fits the basic mold: Karen/Dorothy, Val/Rose, Laura/Sophia, and Abby/Blanche.

I like the parallels you've made between KL and GG!  Another might be between KL and "Designing Women": Karen/Julia, Val/Charlene, Laura/Mary Jo and Abby/Suzanne.

4 minutes ago, Khan said:

I like the parallels you've made between KL and GG!  Another might be between KL and "Designing Women": Karen/Julia, Val/Charlene, Laura/Mary Jo and Abby/Suzanne.

Total missed opportunity not to have Donna Mills' first post-KL role be a guest spot on DW as the Helen Van Patterson-Patton.

Edited November 3Nov 3 by Franko

1 hour ago, All My Shadows said:

As much as I want to make a case for Ginger staying on, I really can't disagree with you on any of this. 

Don't get me wrong, @All My Shadows: I wouldn't have minded Ginger staying on (although, Kenny might be another matter entirely, lol), but at the same time, I find myself at the same loss with her that I do with Joshua - specifically, where do you go with her (once she and Kenny have divorced)?  She couldn't have continued as a schoolteacher, because that, too, would've been a dead end.  Could she have worked for Gary or Greg?  

40 minutes ago, Khan said:

I like the parallels you've made between KL and GG!  Another might be between KL and "Designing Women": Karen/Julia, Val/Charlene, Laura/Mary Jo and Abby/Suzanne.

We might as well go one step further and compare to Sex and the City: Karen/Carrie, Val/Charlotte, Laura/Miranda, Abby/Samantha.

On 10/27/2025 at 12:32 AM, Vee said:

I do think Patrick Petersen grew up to be uncomfortably hot, and a lot of people knew it. They wasted him not doing more, and I do look fwd to seeing his future years on the show. 

To me, KL faced the same dilemma with Michael (and with PP) that they faced with Sid/Don Murray: what do you do with a terribly nice person who has no edge and is a sucker for every bottled blonde who bats their eyes his way?

6 minutes ago, kalbir said:

We might as well go one step further and compare to Sex and the City: Karen/Carrie, Val/Charlotte, Laura/Miranda, Abby/Samantha.

S&TC is pretty much what David Jacobs wanted originally for KL: a weekly exploration of sexual mores in the modern world; only Jacobs wanted to view it all through the lens of four married couples rather than through four single women.

2 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

I didn't realize I was in the minority in thinking that most of the male cast of Knots were hotties.

I think they definitely are. There's not a bad one in the bunch for me, including Ted.

8 hours ago, Khan said:

Of course, this begs the question: what could they have done with Joshua (and Cathy) if he hadn't gone off the rails?  Keeping him in the ministry would've been a dead end, story-wise, because there would've been no way for the producers to tie that arena in with everything else on the show.  So, what could they have done with Joshua?  Could he have left the ministry and maybe become an attorney like Mack?  Or followed in Ben's footsteps and become a journalist/news producer?  Or gone to work for Gary and Abby at Gary Ewing Enterprises?  Or joined the police force and become KL's resident cop?  (I could see a story where Joshua, new to the force, has to protect Cathy from a stalker).  Or maybe just decide to become Cathy's manager/record producer, thus plunging KL once again into the recording industry?

I think we would've seen his beliefs soften or moderate per his exposure to Cathy, but he'd likely still have those failings. I do think any of those jobs could've worked, especially a TV guy like Ben or maybe the LAPD.

The Ruth arc was great, except as I noted many pages back it ends on a fizzle as soon as Ava Gardner's appearances run out. She vanishes between episodes after (despite all her grand talk) simply setting up a very hasty, corny and weak 'spouse walks in on another other woman' bit entirely offscreen. The next week she's gone with no farewell or climax/conclusion to the story. (Unless the scenes were cut for DVD/syndication, which I doubt)

Edited November 3Nov 3 by Vee

Some Knots shots...

I especially love the last shot with Donna Mills and Jane Elliot.  A match made in soaps fan heaven, lol.

It's really a shame how the (SAG?) strike cut short JE's run on the show - although, TBF, she probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.  Paul Rudd - no, not THAT Paul Rudd - was such a bad choice to play Earl, and I'm still struggling all these years later to understand why Gary would have had an affair with Judy other than 1) she was there and 2) they weren't ready to pull the pin on Gary/Abby just yet.

In a perfect world, however, Judy would have returned in S3 or 4 - this time, as Val's editor on "Capricorn Crude."  (She would've been divorced from Earl by that point, but had used his connections in the publishing industry to land herself her cushy, new gig).  Just imagine the conflicts that would've come out of Val trying to put aside her residual hurt feelings over Gary and Judy's affair in order to finish her book, all while she, Judy and Lilimae get wise to Gary's latest affair with Abby.

Edited November 3Nov 3 by Khan

1 hour ago, Khan said:

I like the parallels you've made between KL and GG!  Another might be between KL and "Designing Women": Karen/Julia, Val/Charlene, Laura/Mary Jo and Abby/Suzanne.

Of all the comparisons, this may be the one I could most connect with.

23 hours ago, Khan said:

It's really a shame how the (SAG?) strike cut short JE's run on the show - although, TBF, she probably wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.  Paul Rudd - no, not THAT Paul Rudd - was such a bad choice to play Earl, and I'm still struggling all these years later to understand why Gary would have had an affair with Judy other than 1) she was there and 2) they weren't ready to pull the pin on Gary/Abby just yet.

I think Michael Ontkean would have been a good choice for Earl. The character would have been charismatic, and Val would be tempted to have an affair to retaliate for Gary/Judy's fling. I could also see Ontkean's Earl going psycho and about beat Gary to death and having a hot fling with Abby. 

The only upsides of the whole Judy/Gary affair were as follows:

1) Val forgave him for the last time, even though she didn't say it.. the way the scenes were played showed that this was Gary's last chance.

2) Abby's craftiness was on full display.  She bonded further with Val and casually ended up at the same restaurant where Gary/Judy were at so she looked to be an ally/friend and not someone to watch over.   Abby spent over a year planning her move.. and made subtle inroads while still maintaining Val's trust, friendship, and free childcare services.

By the time Val walked in on Abby/Gary in bed.. it was after weeks of her being wary of Abby/Gary together.. and deciding at that moment that Gary blew it and dumped his ass.

Val remarrying Gary in season 12 was another character regression and a further loss of dignity.

11 minutes ago, SoapDope78 said:

I think Michael Ontkean would have been a good choice for Earl. 

Frankly, I think anyone would've been a better choice for Earl Trent than (Not That) Paul Rudd, lol.  But I think I would've gone another way and casted John Rubinstein.  At least he wasn't a total drip, lol.

8 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

By the time Val walked in on Abby/Gary in bed.. it was after weeks of her being wary of Abby/Gary together.. and deciding at that moment that Gary blew it and dumped his ass.

Val remarrying Gary in season 12 was another character regression and a further loss of dignity.

Val/Gary/Abby worked because of the character arcs, not because of the triangle itself. I never thought of Gary as any type of prize so why would these grown women fight over him. When all was said and done, Val moved on with her life after losing her first love, Gary manned up, and Abby got the come up that she was all about.