KNOTS LANDING

[DemetriKane]

I am sooooo glad you're enjoying the show. I do not see enough knots landing talk anymore. Most people in my offline life have forgotten this show compared to dynasty and dallas. I'm a huge sid/don Murray supporter so season 3 was a hard one for me to get through. Lilimae is in my top 5 fave characters from the series but i never been too crazy about karen. Funny story about ur mom/gram i was raised by a domineering mother which is why karen irritated me so much. Anyhow i am looking forward to ur reactions from season 3 cliffhanger & season 4 mystery starring my second favorite character ciji. Happy viewing! Edited March 30, 2014 by cassistan

[BKuzak]

I think i want to change Karen's "tagline"

Karen: I don't want to see the world through rose colored glasses...i want the world to be rose colored. (Since she already said it, i think it fits her better."

Ginger: My husband may be a cheater but i'm a one man woman.

[cuzIsaySo]

I hate the Polyanna speach. Makes me wanna beat Karen with a 2X4. Then rip her two arms and beat her bleeding face with it while i giggle. And then douce whats left with gaz and light a match. And then take pictures. And then posting them on my FB. AND THEN WAIT FOR THE COPS TO ARREST ME.

[Paul Raven]

Interesting take on the show http://hillplace.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/Favoring-Falcon-Crest.html

I watched PBS's "Pioneers of Television" segment concerning prime time soaps this week with considerable interest. I noticed how the testimony from the cast members of the shows that were profiled seemed to reflect the stature of each individual series. The actors interviewed from "Dynasty" appeared to realize that their show was utter fluff and talked about their series, and their experiences with it, with a light-hearted sense of fun. (However, Linda Evans' anecdote about kissing Rock Hudson on the series, and the controversial aftermath when it was revealed he was dying of AIDS, is genuinely affecting and poignant.) In contrast, "Knots Landing" cast members Michele Lee, Joan Van Ark, and Donna Mills all heavy-handedly attempted to build their case concerning their show's purported sense of ordinary social realism. (Mills has such airs about the show that she can't even bring herself to call the series a "soap.") As I've blogged about before, I am really tired of hearing of how "Knots Landing" purportedly had more depth because it was initially set in (upper) middle class suburbia. For instance, I sincerely hope that Lee will stop giving interviews touting her character's self-indulgent and theatrical "Pollyanna" speech in Season 12 (which was compelling at first viewing, but now comes across as forced and artificial). I also hope that they all stop self-servingly alleging that "Dallas" was a show about "them" and that "Knots" was purportedly a show about "us." "Knots Landing" wasn't any more realistic than the other prime time soaps, so they really need to get off their soapboxes (no pun intended) and give it a rest. It was apparent to me how Lee, Van Ark, and Mills were all straining to build a case that their show was the most important of them all. In contrast, I was pleased to see how assured and self-confident the "Dallas" cast members participating in this documentary were in discussing their series. Because they know their show was the pick of the litter, proven by the fact that their revival series on TNT (which is returning Monday, January 28th, for a second season) has been well-received thus far, they don't have to work overtime to prove their worth. The supremacy of "Dallas" speaks for itself.

Probably the most interesting interview was with actress Lynne Moody, who played the ill-fated matriarch in the token African American Williams family on "Knots Landing." When Moody discusses her frustration at how her character faded into the background after initially enjoying a strong introduction to the series (while Caucasian cast members who later joined the series after she debuted ultimately received more screentime than her), it contradicts the case Lee, Van Ark, and Mills have attempted to make about "Knots Landing's" purported sense of credibility. Moody comes off as the most candid, least delusional of the "Knots Landing" participants in the documentary. Her anecdote at meeting the producers to discuss her frustration with her diminished role (a meeting which she admits did not go well and ultimately resulted in her asking to be let go from the series) underscores the racial inequality, double-standard, and hypocrisy of "Knots Landing." For example, in the "Knots Landing" clip used on the documentary to show Lynne Moody and Larry Riley's characters at home, rather than talking about their own marriage or family, they are shown being preoccupied talking about Joan Van Ark's Valene. The irony of this clip is that, even when the African American Williams family actually had screentime on the series, the scenes ultimately were not about themselves, but about their Caucasian neighbors. After listening to Lee, Van Ark, and Mills gloat about the level of influence they had over their series in countless interviews they have given through the years, Moody's anecdote is telling in how it reflected that, when a woman of color on "Knots Landing" brought her concerns over her character to the producers, it fell on deaf ears as they were clearly not interested, nor motivated, in working with her to reach a satisfactory resolution for her character.

[quartermainefan]

That commentary is funny. I guess I can see why the Knots ladies try to validate their show because this is their careers and they want it to be worth something. The Dallas people don't have fragile egos because they know they were on Dallas, the most popular drama in TV history, what is there to try and sell that hasn't already been sold? Anyway, Dallas was the best nighttime soap I feel, and the fact it is back on today is a compliment to its basic concept.

[DRW50]

Of course it was more realistic. It wasn't real life, but it was more realistic than Dallas (which mostly just revolved around how many times they could tell a story about Sue Ellen being drunk and JR getting some tail while losing Ewing Oil), Dynasty (which went out of its way not to be realistic - deliberately so), or Falcon Crest. The mere sight of the characters doing laundry makes it more realistic, let alone the rest.

If this person didn't like Knots Landing, that's fine, but their post is very elitist while claiming to be against elitism.

[cuzIsaySo]

i admit that I hated that they didnt delve further in the Williams family dynamic and was sad to see Lynne Moody be written out becuz I wish the show did something with Gary & Pat and maybe Frank & Val (enjoyed both friendships and thought G&P had potential to have a fling).

But this only highlights how little care primetime in general had for afro-american characters.

And Pat's death gave some good material for Kent Master and Larry Riley. The if you're going to do it do it right scene is one that stands out in my mind.

KL in my eyes was one of the best primetime show of that era and I feel it didnt get the recognition that it deserved. So I get why its cast was so protective of it as opposed to say Dynasty or Dallas who garnered more publicity even though KL outlast them all.

One thing that always disapointed me was that there was no gay character. I understand this being a different time but to me Michael Fairgate coming out to Karen would have been a terrific storyline.

I always thought Michael was a perfect fit for any coming out storyline. I never bought any of his relationship with any female (even though the Paige/Michael thing was good and I loved Linda) and i always imagined he was deep into denial. Sorry but the way he acted around Johnny Rourke screamed unspoken crush to me.

Anyone thought that Michael was probably in the closet? That always was my theory.

[Khan]

Sorry, I just thought Pat Petersen couldn't act.

[cuzIsaySo]

And youre not totally wrong about that lol

But i think out of all karen's kids he was the less annoying. And i hate saying bad things about the deads but steve shaw was nothing to write home about either.

You will be happy to know that PP hasnt had a gig in like 20 years though lol

[Khan]

Oh, you got that right! Whenever he was on-screen, I could just see the desperation on his face. If he were a talking doll, he'd say, "Acting is hard!".

[cuzIsaySo]

I think KL initially hired the adults' on-screen kids based solely on how cute they were before they hit puberty. The one that fare the best was Tonya Crowe but at one point the show should have recast the parts of eric and Michael (even though i though he was really cute) to provide them with longetivity potential.

The eric vs Michael feud could have driven thek show for years and Linda was probably the one thing that made the Fairgate boys interesting.

Can someone clarify one thing about the Michael/linda story for me. When they first got together behind eric's back she told him that eric was abusive and once hit her. Was it revealed that it was either true or not? I know karen refused to buy what Linda said but i never felt it was definitely explored.

[BKuzak]

I thought they did a good job recasting Brian with Brian Austin Greene. I know he wasn't on much but he was apart of Olivia's drug story where he got beat up. He also got to be in the final scene with Donna. I don't remember who the original Brian was but i don't think he said much.

[cuzIsaySo]

RecastBrian didnt speak much either. I remember a scene where Brian2.0 explains to his mom about a videogame (which got Abby an idea for her latest scheam du jour) and a scene where he sobbed cuz big sister Olivia was snorting coke but other than that he was basically an extra.

But he was a cut above ORBrian who was so genereic i dont even remember a single thing about.

So i agree that they shouldnt have been afraid to recast the original kids with stronger actors as they aged.

I think they should have had Laura's kids return at some point and build a relationship with their half sister Meg.

[juppiter]

Haha. Ditto.

[amybrickwallace]

My main memories of KL (I was a baby when it premiered and in middle school when it ended) are that we never had our Girl Scout meetings on Thursdays because my troop leader was a MAJOR fan. Our meetings were always at her house - so Thursday was her night to unwind, kick back and enjoy the goings on of Val, Gary, Abby, Karen, Greg and the rest.

Of the different variants of the theme song, my favorite was the first season's. Still a very hummable song!!