Knots Landing

[Paul Raven]

May 1980

Presenting the CBS fall 1980 schedule Bud Grant vp Programs, stated that the introduction of 32 yr old widow Abby Culver to Knots Landing will function in much the same way as the JR character in Dallas 'driving the story forward and making things happen'

An actress had yet to be cast for this protaganist.

 

Has Donna Mills or anyone else ever spoken about the casting and evolution of Abby?

[Soaplovers]

The only thing I remember was one of the reasons Donna Mills was cast was because she'd been known for playing the ingenure and good girls....and the show figured having her appear sweet and warm..would make Abby's vixen turn come off better.

 

 

[titan1978]

Well mission was certainly accomplished with Donna Mills as Abby.  She really brought a lot to the show, and Abby quickly became one of my all time favorite soap characters as soon as I saw her in action.  I especially loved those first few years, and her and Gary together at the ranch.

[FrenchBug82]

She was a nun on Love is a Many Splendored Thing!

[Paul Raven]

For Fall 81, CBS moved Knots Landing foward one hour to 9pm.

The Waltons, long time 8pm show ended its run so CBS moved Magnum up an hour to 8, Knots to 9 and introduced Jessica Novak at 10.

 Knots didn't debut until Wk 5 of the season.

The results

Magnum #13 21.5/33

Knots Landing 18.0/29 (won its timeslot but not in the top 20)

Jessica Novak 13.7/24 (third in its timeslot behind Hill St Blues and 20/20)

Moving Knots gave NBC the chance to build Hill St Blues into a hit. As the season wore on Knots struggled to win its timeslot up against Diffrent Strokes/Gimme A Break on NBC.

Later in the season Knots moved back to 10. They tried the same move in Fall 86 and once again, the ratings dropped and Knots was moved back to 10pm.

[amybrickwallace]

Wow, I never knew all this. Good for them!!

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❤

[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

I'd never seen this promo. It's a better approach to advertising the show than anything onscreen at this point. I especially love the shot of Gary with his dog - Gary was such a dour character I sometimes forget how good looking Ted was then.

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[Forever8]

Saw this on Twitter via Constance McCashin (Laura Avery Sumner) 

 

[FrenchBug82]

OK Here is something that gets me very curious now.
As we see here the main players: the men spend half an hour in makeup and the women an hour and a half. Unsurprising.
But there are exceptions at the bottom: Julie Harris takes only an hour. Fine, I get it. Lilimae's makeup was more subdued than the younger women.
But why did Kevin Dobson require an hour when all the other men only needed half an hour? I looked up that episode to see if I could see something plot-wise that could explain it (an accident or something) but nope.
So I'd be very amused to know why.

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by FrenchBug82

[j swift]

@FrenchBug82  Rob Lowe reenacts Kevin Dobson's hour in the makeup chair

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Edited July 23, 2021 by j swift

[SFK]

You beat me to it!

[FrenchBug82]

Ooooooooooooooh I am glad I asked because I didn't know.
Funny how that detail clocked it lol
Thanks ya'll!

[DemetriKane]

Do you have a video that goes with that gif?

[Chris B]

LOL! Yes, Kevin Dobson and that toupee. I do wonder about why they did that since Kojak was so popular and he didn't wear it there. I think he looked good with it so I'm glad they did, but I found that odd since he had already been on tv for years without it.