Falcon Crest

[Chris 2]

I thought they missed the boat with evolving Lance’s character after his relationship with Lorraine and he had experienced true love. Instead, he regressed when he got involved with Babylonia and ran the radio station.

I also think these nighttime soaps would be a good fit for Pluto. True that it’s owned by Paramount, but they license content from other sources. I’ve seen James Bond movies, Addams Family, Green Acres, and other non-Paramount properties on there.

[Soapsuds]

Apollonia is just horrible. She can't act [!@#$%^&*]. I'm really enjoying this season. Pamela responsible for the explosion? Lame and ridiculous... not even a recast made it believable.

Edited March 3, 2022 by Soapsuds

[Chris B]

This first season is such a blast! They definitely learned from the other soaps of the era and hit the ground running from day one. The writers immediately know these characters and have created a very dark and gothic Tuscany Valley which instantly stands out from the other soaps. I also love how dark some of the characters are. You have Angela, who is an absolute terror and both of her daughters seem to have psychological issues from the way she raised them. Julia's son Lance is a rich jerk and has no respect for his mother. The Giobertti's are the "good" characters, although I don't think Chase is very likable. The best part of the season is that they were able to weave a central mystery throughout which prevented it from going down the rabbit hole of bland self-contained episodes like Knots and Dallas had. 

I'm almost done with season one, but what I'm really excited for are those later seasons (7-9) which I don't really remember much of. I'm enjoying it while it's great and ready for the wild ride as things get insane. 

[te.]

Season 7 is wacky, season 8 is pretty terrible and an attempt to get back to basics and I think as long as you think of season 9 as a spin-off with some characters from Falcon Crest you'll enjoy it. It's actually a much better plotted out season than the three or so seasons that came before, but most get turned off by the fact that it doesn't have most of the glory days characters.

[Chris B]

I have very vague memories of those later years. I haven't watched them since I was 15-16 and I'm 34 now. I know Melissa was literally insane and I remember Falcon Crest burning down. Season 8 I remember being incredibly boring and I don't think I ever watched more that a couple episodes of season 9. I'm most curious to see how I'll feel about it. I know the writers were good and I don't mind a reboot, but I know the fans pretty much hate it. I feel like at that point they didn't have anything to lose. 

[te.]

I think as long as you go into season 9 with an open mind and knowledge that it is a complete reboot you can enjoy it for what it is. I think the main issue is that it really does feel like a different show while other prime time soaps that perked up in their last seasons, like Dynasty and Melrose Place, at least managed to "feel" like they were still the same show Falcon Crest pretty much just throws out everything and keeps a few characters. I'd say it's at least better than Dallas's and Beverly Hills 90210's final seasons where they just sort of petered out.

[Chris B]

I just finished a re-watch of Dallas and and in the second half of 90210 now. Dallas, whew it was rough. I liked some of the new characters, but it's crazy how dull the show became. Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy destroyed the show by only caring about showcasing themselves. Dallas needed the ensemble to work. 90210 I'm in season 6 and struggling, so I already know this is about to be a rough watch. Now Knots Landing? Amazing! Loved the final season and the reunion was fine. Dynasty also ended on such a great note, but like you said, they kept the feel of the show the same, just with a better writer.

[Vee]

As an admitted outsider to this show I do know they hired Cyrus Nowrasteh to work on the final season, an infamous right wing propagandist who later did the Path to 9/11 right wing hitjob miniseries in the 2000s.

Like most right wing dudes in Hollywood, Nowrasteh was clearly an action junkie, trying to turn a glossy old fashioned primetime soap into something atmospheric like Miami Vice. The show was obviously very different and that is very evident in even just the opening credits sequence - I liked the new theme music, but as I am no FC fan I am in the overwhelming minority, and it's obvious they were doing something very tonally jarring with what came before (you can't sell a show with Rod Taylor and Jane Wyman in the credits as Crockett and Tubbs), and infatuated with Gregory Harrison. I doubt any of their audience cared about that and it screams tryhard. I do like the music though, and that opening with the omen of the dead falcon.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Vee

[te.]

Well, as I said, the issue with Falcon Crest's final season is that they pretty much threw everything out and kept a few characters, unlike Dynasty and Melrose Place where they tried to tie their final season to their glory years even if they also suffered loss of characters (Roger Grimes mystery / Matt's diary). I think if you view FC season 9 as it's own thing - a one season prime time soap - it's pretty enjoyable, but if you try to compare it to what came before it's completely unrecognizeable.

[Paul Raven]

Falcon Crest was on its last legs so the decision was made to revamp and try to lure some new viewers.

The opening episode ranked 57th behind Dallas 49th. The only saving grace is that ABC and NBC were also were not providing much competition.

 FC lost the 10pm Friday slot, being moved to Thurs at 9 to burn off the last episodes. Dallas went back to 10pm.

Really FC should have been cancelled earlier.

[Khan]

Agree.

As I think I've said before, either in this thread or elsewhere: DALLAS was the almost mythical family saga; DYNASTY was the "old Hollywood" throwback about glamorous people suffering glamorously; and KNOTS LANDING was the soap that was (theoretically) about middle-class people caught in circumstances beyond their control.  FC, therefore, was always a soap in need of its' own identity. 

For awhile, FC tried to be a combination of DALLAS' grit and DYNASTY's glamour, but I don't think the combination ever really worked.  The storylines weren't as strong as DALLAS', and the opulence paled in comparison to DYNASTY's, too. 

Then, when Jeff Freilich became showrunner, FC finally had an identity separate from the other soaps, as a moody, noirish, crime drama that echoed "Crime Story" and presaged "Wiseguy."  However, in the process, it seemed like the vineyards, which had been central to the show's storylines up to that point, became less integral to the show.

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: Lorimar should have just stuck with Earl Hamner's original vision for FC, as a "Waltons"-like family drama with Gothic undertones.  That, after all, was more his metier, not glitzy melodrama.

[kalbir]

Falcon Crest was the last to arrive of the 1980s big four and it seems to be the least remembered and least talked about. I think alot of it is due to the Dallas with grapes reputation (after the first season which felt like wealthy Waltons in modern day California wine country), perception as a time slot hit due to being Dallas's lead out, and that there was really no breakout character that became a pop culture phenomenon in the vein of JR/Alexis.

A unique concept was there (California wine country backdrop, the connected families, their wine businesses, the family/business conflicts), the acting talent was there, the soap ingredients were there, but the execution somehow wasn't. There was no need to venture into James Bond/Miami Vice territory with some of the storylines. This was a show with so much potential that got squandered.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2022 by kalbir

[Soapsuds]

Angela was the JR of FC. The show wouldn't have lasted as long if it wasn't after Dallas. I think the last season of FC should've rebooted to the beginning like Dynasty. Going very dark was just awful and the soap was unrecognizable.

[Joseph]

i read so many times thet Julia should've come back on the last season to Run Falcon Crest in Angela's place, i agree that would be so much better than that last season, it only got better at the end when Angela came Back

[BetterForgotten]

Neither FC or Dallas should have realistically been allowed to make it into the 90’s. By that point, both shows had fallen out of the top 30 and were way past their prime.