KNOTS LANDING

[victoria foxton]

 I think it was the wonky writing. That did Anne no favors. Like when she was homeless. Hanging out with the obese homeless man.

Edited April 15, 2022 by victoria foxton

[FrenchBug82]

The first episode of the homeless story was actually pretty good to me. That half makeup scene was obvious but compelling.
Indeed, it is when they went back to involving her in capers with that landlord that they lost the plot - quickly.

[Chris 2]

I liked Anne. Michelle Phillips didn’t have a whole lot of range as an actress, but that character was perfect for her. I liked the rivalry between Claudia and “Annie”.

[Soaplovers]

I did think the final season showcased Anne best with her being so insecure about being alone that she pretended to be pregnant and had the loveless marriage to Greg.  And I recall a scene where she went to get plastic surgery and the dr stated she didn't need anything done..that she had low self esteem.

I also liked Nick coming back..and he was with Claudia because Anne was with Greg.  

[Khan]

Agree.  Ann Marcus gave Anne layers that other writers couldn't or wouldn't.

AM also managed to salvage Claudia, who had been written into corners for the longest time.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Khan

[te.]

I think bringing on Anne full time was fine. I did like that instead of trying to create another Abby they just sort of spread out facets of her personality into other characters. The writing obviously could've been better in the last few seasons (Latham's were running on fumes with the Waleska story, which was just Thrillin' Jill Pt 2 except not thrilling; trying to go gritty with new writers in season 13 was a mistake etc), but that's another issue.

[j swift]

I liked Claudia as a character, and I appreciated the opportunity to see Kathleen Noone play against type given her time on AMC, but her backstory made no sense.

Greg spent a couple of seasons trying figuring out his paternity and the impact of Paul Galveston on his life.  But, apparently, he had a sister the whole time whom he never have consulted?  Then, when he needed to offload Meg, he gave her to his high school buddy rather than his sister? 

And, Claudia didn't keep up with Greg during his entire rise to power until he needed a kidney?  Yet, they shared enough genetic material that their daughters looked like twins. 

Also, Mac fathered Paige while he was growing up with Greg, so wouldn't Claudia know her mother Anne from their younger days together?

And, Paul Galveston manipulated Greg's career through an elaborate multi-national crime syndicate for years, but never interfered in the life of his other son with Claudia? 

Edited April 16, 2022 by j swift

[Khan]

I don't think LML and Bernard Lechowick were running on fumes so much as they were running out of tricks.

[FrenchBug82]

I don't think the Waleska story was well-constructed - the "coincidence" that Gary's phone date ended up being his ex-wife was a lazy contrivance - but honestly that's one of the few stories of the latter years that I remember vividly with some great moments - Danny vs Gary in the barn, the hilariously casual way the twins found out Gary was their father, the murder mystery.
I am curious why there is so much hate for it. There were a lot worse plots around on the show during S11-12.

[Soaplovers]

The timing of the plot...it happened on the heels of the Jill Bennett story..and was viewed by most as a way to keep Gary and Val apart.  

Lastly it made Val look like an idiot.

[FrenchBug82]

Well, in all fairness, 80% of the plots made Val look like an idiot which she wasn't at the core.

But I hear the fact she stubbornly sided with Danny over everyone's warnings made her look bad - the classic contrivance of this kind of plot.
But keeping Gary and Val is what the show spent most of its run doing - sometimes well, sometimes heavily.

Around that time I thought something like Greg's insta-daughter getting killed after one episode and us supposing to care about whatever dumb mystery there was over it was considerably suckier
The Karen stalking storyline was also suckier, coz there wasn't any dramatic payoffs to it the way the Danny story had (arguably the only compelling moment came the following season and even that was cliche). And do not get me started with Aunt Ginny.

I am not a FAN of the Waleska story but I don't think it is the worst they came up with

[Chris 2]

I liked the Waleska story, but I wish it had been played out a little longer. It only took Valene an episode or two after their marriage to figure out it was a mistake. I think you could have had a season of Valene married to this guy whom her friends don’t like, and he gradually reveals himself to her.

[FrenchBug82]

If they had stretched the timeline they also should have stretched it for the audience: not knowing whether Danny was indeed nasty or whether the ex-wife was lying.
The audience had a taste of who he was pretty quicky - a little longer would have also made it easier to forgive Val for believing in him.

[Khan]

Not to mention the fact that "Sally's Friend" also turned out to be Bobby and Betsy's preschool or kindergarten teacher.

Here's how I might have handled the Gary/Amanda/Danny/Val story:

First, I would have casted better actors than Penny Peyser and Sam Behrens.  God bless those two, but like most of the Lechowicks' hires, they were so dull; and Peyser, in particular, looked not at all like the kind of woman whom Ted Shackelford's Gary would have seen as anything other than a friend, quite frankly.

Second, I wouldn't have done that "Sally's Friend" crap.  Unless the intent was to reveal that Jill was very much alive, it was a pointless misdirect for the audience.  I would've just had Gary and Amanda meet one day at Bobby and Betsy's school, as Gary is either dropping off the twins or picking them up, as a favor to Val.

Third, I would have introduced Danny first through Gary and Amanda.  Gary and Danny meet in passing -- perhaps, when Gary picks up Amanda for one of their dates -- and initially, things seem fine between the two, with Gary's first impression of Danny being that he seems like a nice, average guy who still cares about his ex-wife.  However, Amanda reveals to Gary that Danny keeps pressuring her for a reconciliation, even though she's made it clear multiple times that their marriage is over.  Out of concern for Amanda, and knowing himself how hard it can be to let go of a relationship, Gary takes it upon himself to reason personally with Danny.

Gary tells Amanda he thinks he got through to Danny, and Amanda is relieved.  However, an enraged Danny later breaks into Amanda's apartment.  He comes close to raping Amanda; however, Amanda is able to fight him off.  When Gary learns what happened, he urges Amanda to press charges against Danny.  Amanda is reluctant to press charges, but she does agree to file a restraining order.  When Danny receives the restraining order, he devises a plan to get even with Gary for interfering in his and Amanda's lives -- a plan that isn't clear until he arranges a not-so-accidental first meeting between himself and Val.

I think the worst story that the Lechowicks came up with on KNOTS was the one about drug smuggling at Lotus Point that ended with Paige, Michael and Johnny being stranded or held hostage in Mexico.  I mean, drug dealers infiltrating Lotus Point?  Come on!

[FrenchBug82]

Not to mention that I have a personal theory that them having Abby plant drugs on Harold was one of the things that resonated in Donna Mills that they didn't understand who Abby was and wasn't as a villain and that staying on much longer will lead them to villainize the character way beyond what she had worked so hard to establish and thus a factor for why she left.
 

We have had that conversation before but while I agree on PP, I thought SB was good in the role. Specifically because of that mix between ordinary and nasty. Danny wasn't a larger-than-life charismatic villain. He was a small mediocre PoS that was making him feel better by belittling and abusing the women in his life. An ordinary guy who wasn't nearly as interesting as he thought he was but who was still a villain and a threat to those around him.
This was, imo, a better fit for SB than Gregory on SB. He wasn't bad in that role but his pairings there required a bit more heat than he gives and he chose to carry the rich and powerful thing through coldness and it didn't quite always work for me.
But he isn't a bad actor by any means.
 

Definitely think the story would have been MUCH better structured that way. Definitely agree on the way you propose to remove the contrivances.
My only caveat would be what I mentioned above. I think maybe Val's idiocy might have been easier to tolerate if the audience also didn't know for a while whether Danny was really a bad guy. If we have a doubt, we can accept that she would too. IMO They didn't keep the suspense long enough for me so every repeated scene of Val refusing to listen once we saw who he was ended up making her look worse and worse.
So maybe up to the point of Gary's interference, they then show Danny "chancemeeting" Val and the audience groans thinking it is a contrivance until it is revealed later he did it intentionally, as you suggested.