8 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

Paige was a shot of energy that the show needed, the problem was that there was a lack of viable other characters in her peer group that could have helped sustain the show.   

Michael and Eric were created for a show that was originally supposed to be Family esque so they didn't really work acting/story wise when the show transitioned into a primetime soap opera.  They always seemed kind of out of place to me.

To me, Olivia vs Paige could have been an interesting story since we witnessed their warm friendship implode at the end of season 8/early season 9.. and that element could have been revisited in season 10 and season 11 since Greg did become Olivia's step dad in season 10 and I'm sure having Olivia working at the Sumner Group in season 11 would have ensured she wasn't islanded off.

That would have been a great rivalry. They got so much wrong with Olivia in her adult years. 

They also never figured out how to bring in any male characters in that age range.

8 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

Michael and Eric were created for a show that was originally supposed to be Family esque so they didn't really work acting/story wise when the show transitioned into a primetime soap opera.  They always seemed kind of out of place to me.

TBH, I wouldn't have minded seeing Steve Shaw and Pat Petersen replaced with actors who could've worked better in soapier storylines.  As it was, they attempted to mold Diana/Claudia Lonow into the new format in seasons 4 and 5, which worked so well that they eventually wrote her out of the show, lol.

8 hours ago, DRW50 said:

They also never figured out how to bring in any male characters in that age range.

I get why they brought Nicollette Sheridan onto the show, but just imagine if Mack and Anne had had a son instead of a daughter.  (Same might go for Greg and Jane).

1 hour ago, Khan said:

TBH, I wouldn't have minded seeing Steve Shaw and Pat Petersen replaced with actors who could've worked better in soapier storylines. 

I'm not a huge fan of recasting, but I agree. Neither really "popped" on screen and it made all storylines with them kind of DOA. While Nicolette wasn't Emmy material, you can see why they started leaning into her character.

 

And also, obligatory whining over them killing off Linda, who was just getting started as a young 90s vixen, only to be killed off and then replaced by Vanessa who just wasn't very charismatic. 

8 hours ago, Khan said:

TBH, I wouldn't have minded seeing Steve Shaw and Pat Petersen replaced with actors who could've worked better in soapier storylines.  As it was, they attempted to mold Diana/Claudia Lonow into the new format in seasons 4 and 5, which worked so well that they eventually wrote her out of the show, lol.

I actually think Diana from season 1 to 4 had moments when she was likable and warm, which balanced out when she was acting like her shrew of a mother Karen.

Diana was partly sacrificed at the altar of Karen.

And yes, I liked Karen Fairgate during the Sid era and her widow era.. but Karen of season 5 through season 14 was just a horrible individual.   I was usually team Mac when the two had conflict.

18 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think Greg/Paige was on the same level as JR/Cally. Cally was presented as very naive whereas Paige gave as good as she got. Greg also never seemed as abusive in his relationships, at least to me.

I didn't really care about Mack because Mack was unwatchable by that time, and Greg never knew her before he thought she was his daughter for about two minutes.

I wasn't a fan of Greg/Paige either, but they, and Paige's airtime, were not really an issue for me in those last seasons. So much of the show was cycling around extremely spent characters (Karen, Val, Gary) and a parade of failed new hires. Paige and Linda scheming at Sumner was more entertaining to me. 

I will say I thought the Paige and DIRTY COP story was dull, but I blame that on him.

I was trying to pinpoint when Mack as a character went downhill for myself. I think it was in Season 10 when Mack decided to be a do-gooder lawyer and also with the whole Meg adoption thing. After that I soured on Mack and Karen, but Mack a lot more because the character had become an extremely self-righteous zealot, while PollyKaren became borderline parody (Seasons 11-13 were definitely the nadir of the MacKenzies lol)

DIRTY COP!!! was bad, but I actually warmed up to the Tom Ryan character overtime especially as I forgot he ended up being on and off the show through the end. 

Greg and Paige were okay for me. Entertaining in Season 10 for sure but i wish the show had decided what to do with them one way or another instead of the constant back and forth that occurred. The Paige/Linda rivalry was definitely interesting, and I do wish Greg had been given a son at some point or all along, maybe that could have spiced up stuff for Paige and Linda down the line as well. 

8 hours ago, te. said:

And also, obligatory whining over them killing off Linda, who was just getting started as a young 90s vixen, only to be killed off and then replaced by Vanessa who just wasn't very charismatic. 

The whining over Linda’s brutal murder isn’t obligatory, it is required. 

8 hours ago, te. said:

I'm not a huge fan of recasting, but I agree. Neither really "popped" on screen and it made all storylines with them kind of DOA.

God knows Dana Sparks is no Robin Wright, but casting her as returning Vickie Gioberti on FC made more sense at that point than simply bringing back Jamie Rose, because, FC itself was much more glamorous than it had been in the beginning.  (Plus, I suspect someone like Sparks was cast, because she looked younger than Rose, which, in turn, made Susan Sullivan look younger.)

Edited November 14Nov 14 by Khan

2 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Greg and Paige were okay for me. Entertaining in Season 10 for sure but i wish the show had decided what to do with them one way or another instead of the constant back and forth that occurred.

I agree.  It made Greg look particularly childish and unattractive.

David James Carroll (David Crane: Season 1) as a singer guest star on the 1975 game show Musical Chairs.

 

28 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

I was trying to pinpoint when Mack as a character went downhill for myself. I think it was in Season 10 when Mack decided to be a do-gooder lawyer and also with the whole Meg adoption thing. After that I soured on Mack and Karen, but Mack a lot more because the character had become an extremely self-righteous zealot, while PollyKaren became borderline parody (Seasons 11-13 were definitely the nadir of the MacKenzies lol)

DIRTY COP!!! was bad, but I actually warmed up to the Tom Ryan character overtime especially as I forgot he ended up being on and off the show through the end. 

Greg and Paige were okay for me. Entertaining in Season 10 for sure but i wish the show had decided what to do with them one way or another instead of the constant back and forth that occurred. The Paige/Linda rivalry was definitely interesting, and I do wish Greg had been given a son at some point or all along, maybe that could have spiced up stuff for Paige and Linda down the line as well. 

The whining over Linda’s brutal murder isn’t obligatory, it is required. 

Mack lost all humor and just became constant judgment. And I never forgave him for making Laura's death all about himself. 

The Jason story in season 12 was his best in years.

Karen I just found to be ossified by this point and really missing anyone who could balance her out.

You're right that they did will they/won't they too often with Greg and Paige. The show likely knew if they got together, they'd never stay together. A young male rival or son for him would have been interesting.

12 minutes ago, SoapDope78 said:

David James Carroll (David Crane: Season 1) as a singer guest star on the 1975 game show Musical Chairs.

Thanks!

On 7/10/2024 at 7:02 AM, SoapDope said:

Yes, Kenny the sleazy music producer screams 70's. I surprised Houghton didn't have a pornstache. Even if Houghton had been one of the best actors, his looks were a bit of a stumbling block. In his era most casting agents would see him no more than as a catalog model or TV commercial actor. Even the Knots writers didn't seem to trust giving him too many lines or heavy material. David Mason Daniels who played Tyler on Capitol was cut from the same cloth.

@SoapDope Did James Houghton, God rest his soul, appear to be too handsome?  How about David Mason Daniels?

Speaking of Capitol, was there a point in which Kimberly Beck, who played David Mason Daniels's lover on that daytime soap, might have fared well on Knots Landing?  She did have a four-episode stint as Claire Prentice on Dynasty during the 1986-87 season.

Edited November 14Nov 14 by FlyRightOrchestraGuy

On 11/14/2025 at 12:44 AM, FlyRightOrchestraGuy said:

@SoapDope Did James Houghton, God rest his soul, appear to be too handsome?  How about David Mason Daniels?

Speaking of Capitol, was there a point in which Kimberly Beck, who played David Mason Daniels's lover on that daytime soap, might have fared well on Knots Landing?  She did have a four-episode stint as Claire Prentice on Dynasty during the 1986-87 season.

Houghton like many actors had the looks, but sometimes that reads bland and boring with viewers. Ted McGinley is another example. 

Beck may have worked as a character on Knots if it was well written.

 

"We're Knot Done Yet": the name of this lovely podcast AND what JVA tells her plastic surgeon at every appointment.

In other news, Michele Lee is reminding me more and more of my old music teacher from elementary school, and I couldn't STAND that bitch.

Edited November 18Nov 18 by Khan