Knots Landing

[Chris 2]

Season 10 is the first year that the Lechowicks were credited as producers in the opening titles (I’m guessing they were story editors/writers for the previous year or two). I believe season 10 is also the year when Lawrence Kasha took over as showrunner (credited as co-executive producer in the opening titles). Jacobs/Filerman were credited as executive producers throughout the run, but this is when I believe they stepped back.

Lawrence Kasha passed away during season 12, but was credited as producer for the rest of that season. I believe the Lechowicks were de facto showrunners for that season, though they didn’t get an executive producer credit. Then they left at the end of the season. Jacobs brought in John Romano as the new showrunner for season 13 (Tidal Energy!). Ratings fell, and Romano was fired at midseason and production was shut down to give them time to right the ship.

[Khan]

Two words that will live in infamy.

[Chris B]

I will never understand how John Romano got hired. He's a good writer, but this seemed like an odd choice for him. I wonder why they didn't go back to Peter Dunne or one of the former writers, or even someone from Dallas. What Ann Marcus did with the rest of the season and season 14 was truly remarkable. To be gone for so long and have to get up to speed during a crisis, she did amazing work. To this day I wish Joan Van Ark didn't leave because the story they were developing with William Devane was clearly going to be something special. 

[FrenchBug82]

Not only him but the entire team, NONE of whom had EVER seen Knots Landing - and were not given any time to watch any of it before they started writing, let alone 12 seasons.

I will never ever understand that, not for Knots or for any other show. It doesn't matter how talented you are; you can't be hired for an existing movie/series/soap and be expected to deliver good stuff if you know nothing, not just of the characters and stories and history, but of the mere tone and essence of the show you are going to be writing for.

Who takes a job blindly like that? Who purporting to care about a show hires someone like that?
 

[te.]

I think the issue is that they wanted to "revamp" an old drama series and make it into something more suitable for the decade and the television landscape at the time; of course it just led to old viewers tuning out because they didn't recognize the product in front of them and few new viewers are going to tune into a tv show because it featured a grisly murder. I don't even think it's John Romano's fault per se - I think they hired him for a specific reason and probably gave CBS/Lorimar the show they thought they wanted.

[j swift]

I was just thinking that, despite being the black sheep of the family, Gary really made the most of his inheritance from Jock. 

While JR and Bobby were fighting for control of Ewing Oil, and still living with their Mamma, Gary bought a ranch, paid off two divorce settlements, and invested in Empire Valley. 

The ranch alone was probably worth a lot, considering it was within commuting distance to Lotus Point.  Just for comparison, Gary bought his ranch around 1984, Michael Jackson bought Neverland (which is probably fictionally close to where Gary would have lived) for 17 million dollars in 1988.

[Chris 2]

Lorimar did the same thing with Falcon Crest in 1986. The show had been declining in the ratings against Miami Vice for the previous season or two. So Earl Hamner left (or was pushed out) and Jeff Frielich was hired as showrunner. His mission was to modernize the show, and he brought in an almost completely new writing staff. New sets, new music, new cast members, new tone. I found it almost unrecognizable. Frielich actually bragged about never having seen the previous’ seasons episodes, too.

John Romano came from Hill Street Blues and was Emmy-nominated for his work there. He was touted as a prestige hire for KL in the trades.

[Khan]

It's simple.  For years, KNOTS had been in direct competition with Steven Bochco's shows - first, "Hill Street Blues"; then, "L.A. Law."  Romano had worked on both shows, so David Jacobs figured hiring him could lure more of that type of viewer to KNOTS.

But...three thoughts:

1. God bless DJ, but he always had a massive inferiority complex about his shows (probably because, he once worked on "Family").  DALLAS and KNOTS were more popular than Bochco's shows and others, but they never achieved the Emmy wins or prestige within the industry that he clearly wanted.

2. If DJ really wanted to hire someone from Bochco's camp to be KNOTS's new showrunner, he should've hired someone who hadn't worked on HSB's last two, Bochco-less seasons, which most agree were lacking.

3. I, myself, would have hired someone from "St. Elsewhere," like Tom Fontana, or John Masius & John Tinker, or Charles H. Eglee & Channing Gibson.  "St. Elsewhere" also had a lot of cache within the industry, but it was a much soapier show than anything Bochco produced.

It's very rare for a writer or producer to return to a series once he/she has left.  It happens, of course, but not often.  And when they do return, it's not guaranteed that magic will happen twice.  Which makes Ann Marcus' return even more remarkable, I think.  For all her faults as a writer, she was able to resurrect a long-running series after a, what, ten-year absence?  It wasn't enough to save the show from cancellation - that was gonna happen no matter what - but at least she helped KNOTS go out with some dignity.

[Khan]

KNOTS had always been able to adapt; that time, however, they had in place a team that, IMO, couldn't write for [!@#$%^&*]; leaving the show so crippled that they had no choice BUT to go back to basics with someone who probably hadn't even seen the show since S4.

Same.  Granted, I was never a big FC fan, but I can't make heads-or-tails out of those Freilich-produced seasons.  Was he attempting to turn FC into a crime show?

[BetterForgotten]

I could be wrong, but didn't LA Law rank higher in the ratings for most of its run vs. KL when they overlapped?

Part of the issue is that these shows lasted too damn long (the same with BH 90210). Every primetime series has a shelf life - some overstay their welcome and some are cut short in their prime. With KL, I'm inclined to say it should have ended long before it did. 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[Khan]

It did, but do you really hear people talking about "L.A. Law" the way they did KNOTS?

[Soapsuds]

Don't know why FC was messed with considering that the following season NBC moved Miami Vice up an hour against Dallas and it tumbled in the ratings.

[BetterForgotten]

One would have to think FC was ever a good show to begin with. 

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[Soapsuds]

L.A. Law struggled against FC until it was moved to Thursday's must see tv line up. It won its timeslot most of the time but on occasion KL won the timeslot.

Angela, Melissa and Julia made this show IMO.  With Cole as eye candy!

[Khan]

OT, but...

I think FC had the makings of a good show - and certainly, you can never go TOO wrong with Jane Wyman, Ana-Alicia, David Selby and Susan Sullivan in the cast - but I think it struggled in trying to be that combination of DALLAS grit and DYNASTY glamour.