Falcon Crest

[soapfan770]

The best two season ending cliffhangers the show did was the Season 2’s and Season 6’s, while Season 7’s was notable. The rest were just adequate enough or run of the mill. 
 

 

[kalbir]

The abrupt ending of the war crimes storyline derailed all of the momentum that had built over the run of the series. Signs of tanking started showing during the final 10 or so episodes of the 1984/85 season. Quite the contrast from Knots Landing, where I thought the final 10 episodes of the 1984/85 season were that show's peak.

I also think the late season tanking is why the Spring 1985 cliffhanger is not as well-remembered as Bobby's car accident, Royal Wedding Shootout, and Val's babies. 

But a good number of them had a death count.

You didn't like the season 3 cliffhanger?

[soapfan770]

The season 4 cliffhanger was definitely quieter than those and also pretty obvious as the previous episode had a brilliant ending scene of Pamela winning one over on Richard, Angela (who was impressed), and Chase, with Pamela promising to Richard she would “blow him away” after he reported her to Interpol. That said the confrontation scenes between Angela and Anna were fun.

 

Of course unlike the Moldavian Massacre the show usually always delivered a death with each catastrophe. 

Oh I forgot about that one, I did enjoy that one. The whole family coming together in peace including Richard (but sans Cole as Melissa manipulated him into staying) only for the plane to get sabotaged with everyone in terror was good, and we got three deaths out of it and the peace/truce was shattered as the blame game was played. If I recall right the S3 finale and S4 premiere were the show’s highest rated episodes. 

[Soapsuds]

I didn't enjoy season 4 as much this go around. There was too may hit and miss episodes. Stories being dropped didn't help them either. The episode before the cliffhanger was much better and they could've included the ending of the cliffhanger to this episode.

Who cared anyone that Chase was cheating on Maggie? He was a lousy husband.

[kalbir]

In terms of finish in the weekly ratings, yes. Both of those episodes finished 2nd behind Dallas.

[Soapsuds]

Season 3 finale placed #2 for the week with a 23.7 rating.

Season 4 premiere placed #2 with a 23.4 rating.

Season  2 finale where Julia is revealed the killer also had a 23.7 rating and placed #4 for the week.

 

Those were its four highest rated episodes.

Season 3 premiere also had a 23.4 rating and ranked #5 for the week. 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Soapsuds

[kalbir]

@Soapsuds The highest rated episode of the series was February 19, 1982: Family Reunion, rating 25.2, 3rd for the week. Lana Turner's first appearance.

[Soapsuds]

Thanks for the reminder!

 

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[Chris 2]

The season 2 finale was great. For once, a major family member was guilty! Unlike the cop-out resolution of Who Shot JR. And having the camera zoom away from the manor house (I think they just reversed the clip from the opening credits) was cool.

[Beetle Bailey]

While Falcon was my favorite of the big four primetime soaps, it was the only other soap where I rooted for the villains, Passions was the other.  I always like Angela better, even though she was wrong most of the time.  While Robert Foxworth is a good actor in other shows I have seen him in, he should not have been cast as Chase.  He just was not likable like Patrick Duffy, John James or Ted Shackelford.  I felt that Bill Bixby would have been a better and more likable Chase.   Another Gioberti that was miscast was Cole.  Billy Moses was boring and unattractive as Cole.  Timothy Patrick Murphy, Billy Warlock or Todd McKee would have rocked in that role.

[Chris 2]

Robert Foxworth has that cold, remote persona in all the roles I’ve seen him in. Clu Gulager, who played the role in the pilot, was worse, but that’s not saying much. A crusader like Chase needs an actor who can infuse the role with some warmth. That’s not Foxworth’s strength.

Agreed on Billy Moses, too - he was kind of a stiff. Cole was even worse when he got married to Melissa and started acting like he was 50 years old.

[Soapsuds]

Hogwash!

 

 

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[kalbir]

I remember William R Moses from Melrose Place when I was a teen and he scared the crap out of me. It's quite jarring for me to see him as this golden fairy tale prince character. In a way Cole was like an early 1980s version of 90210 Brandon.

[soapfan770]

Haha no doubt Moses was sexy and he was the good boy contrast to bad boy Lance. Actually one of my favorite Season 2 stories was when Cole was living with Joanna Cassidy’s character I wish the show had been willing to flesh out that story more. The whole Melissa/Cole/Robin story that ran for 2 seasons was pretty disgusting and  I can see why Moses quit because of it even though he was clearly willing to come back if the show could at least give Cole an interesting story. Instead we got Dan Fixx. 
 

I actually was going to mention that as at the time Moses seemed so much older that Courtney Thorne Smith at the time lol. Keith Gray was really MP’s first dark and memorable villain especially at a time the show was transitioning into a full blown soap with Amanda’s arrival and Michael divorcing Jane to be with Kimberly.

It was a sign of the times though. My teen self was shocked by that final season of Dallas with the Hagman/Eden reunion be a nasty affair while innocent 80’s geek Anthony Michael Hall had a turn as the nasty bully villain in Edward Scissorhands. 

[kalbir]

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Starts at 18:24. Promo for the last episode of the 1980s.

Starts at 11:29. Promo for the first episode of the 1990s.

Starts at 11:43. Promo for the finale.

Edited July 5, 2023 by kalbir