Jane Wyman’s Golden Globe acceptance speech for winning Best Actress for 1983:

Thanks @soapfan770 such a great intro from Jane. I do wonder if she drew a lot of strength from Angela in those years.

Watching Falcon Crest after work at night has been a real joy! I’d never seen the show before until I started watching it on FreeVee. Then they took it off FreeVee when I was nearing the end of season four but fortunately it popped up on Plex a few months later. Right now I’m in the middle of season seven and while I still enjoy watching it, this is the first truly subpar season they’ve done so far.

The show was working so beautifully since the beginning. There was a dip in quality after season four but seasons five and six were still pretty good. Now in season seven, we keep getting these action-plots that pop up out of nowhere and end just as quickly. There seems to be no overarching storyline for the season (well maybe Chase’s codicil storyline but that’s been a relatively minor storyline so far). Guests stars show up and leave in a couple of episodes. Characters making ridiculous choices (Eric beats up Vicki while she’s pregnant, causing her to lose the baby. But afterwards, everyone acts like Eric is a great guy and he’s laughing with the other dudes at Richard’s bachelor party and all is forgiven/forgotten).

I know the show changes in season 8 so I’m looking forward to something different. Is season eight better or worse than seven in your opinion?

4 minutes ago, Romalotti said:

I know the show changes in season 8 so I’m looking forward to something different. Is season eight better or worse than seven in your opinion?

Yes...and no, lol.

On the one hand, with budget-smashing Jeff Freilich out as EP/show runner, FC kind of gets back to basics: no more Special Guest Stars, and no more international cartels either. With Camille Marchetta and the returning Michael Filerman, there appears to be a renewed emphasis on the actual vineyards, with the Channings and the Giobertis (or, what's left of them), along with the addition of a second branch of the Agretti family and the Ortegas for some class/ethnic conflicts.

But, on the other hand, those additions to the cast prove to be deathly dull; and unfortunately, that, along with what just about everyone agrees was the show's biggest blunder (I won't say, in case you don't wish to be spoiled), lays the groundwork for what will be the MASSIVE creative overhaul that comes with S9 - more massive, I would say, than the one that came with Freilich - that renders FC totally unrecognizable.

Edited Saturday at 04:59 PM1 day by Khan

1 hour ago, Khan said:

Yes...and no, lol.

On the one hand, with budget-smashing Jeff Freilich out as EP/show runner, FC kind of gets back to basics: no more Special Guest Stars, and no more international cartels either. With Camille Marchetta and the returning Michael Filerman, there appears to be a renewed emphasis on the actual vineyards, with the Channings and the Giobertis (or, what's left of them), along with the addition of a second branch of the Agretti family and the Ortegas for some class/ethnic conflicts.

But, on the other hand, those additions to the cast prove to be deathly dull; and unfortunately, that, along with what just about everyone agrees was the show's biggest blunder (I won't say, in case you don't wish to be spoiled), lays the groundwork for what will be the MASSIVE creative overhaul that comes with S9 - more massive, I would say, than the one that came with Freilich - that renders FC totally unrecognizable.

I’m aware that a couple of major characters die in the next year or so, and I’m already dreading it (especially Maggie 💔). Once I was browsing the live channels on Plex and caught a few minutes of the final season. Honestly, it didn’t feel like the same show. Characters I’ve never seen before and the show had a cheap, videotaped look to it. But I’m a completist so I’ll keep trudging through until the end.

8 hours ago, Romalotti said:

Once I was browsing the live channels on Plex and caught a few minutes of the final season. Honestly, it didn’t feel like the same show. Characters I’ve never seen before and the show had a cheap, videotaped look to it.

Extreme budget mode in action, lol!

The biggest problem with S9, of course, is that Miss Jane Wyman is absent for most of it, due to health reasons. Without her, the show just feels so lost.

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

Extreme budget mode in action, lol!

Hahaha. For sure.

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

The biggest problem with S9, of course, is that Miss Jane Wyman is absent for most of it, due to health reasons. Without her, the show just feels so lost.

Jane Wyman was not looking healthy during the final two seasons but I think budget mode also played a part in her episodes being cut in the final season. We know Jane Wyman acted only once after Falcon Crest and that was her 1993 guest appearance on Dr. Quinn but she lived until 2007.

15 hours ago, kalbir said:

Hahaha. For sure.

Jane Wyman was not looking healthy during the final two seasons but I think budget mode also played a part in her episodes being cut in the final season. We know Jane Wyman acted only once after Falcon Crest and that was her 1993 guest appearance on Dr. Quinn but she lived until 2007.

Is there any truth to the rumor that Jane sat out most of the final season because she didn’t like the direction the show had taken (in addition to her medical issues)?

4 hours ago, Romalotti said:

Is there any truth to the rumor that Jane sat out most of the final season because she didn’t like the direction the show had taken

That I don't know but I would not be shocked at all if it were true.

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

That I don't know but I would not be shocked at all if it were true.

I wouldn't be shocked either.

@Khan @kalbir @Romalotti

There may be some truth there…

The reason for Angela being written off the show is primarily JANE WYMAN's frail state of health; doctors advised her to quit working. Besides, the new producers consider this as the perfect opportunity to enhance their idea to lead the program into a new direction — another bad decision, as the rest of the season will prove.
Before LORIMAR and JANE WYMAN mutually decided Angela would be going into a coma for the major part of the season, the new producing and writing staff had even crazier ideas for season 9. According to a crew member, who wants to remain unnamed, JANE WYMAN was so shocked about the first draft of the seasonal bible that she angrily demanded her character rather be killed in order not to have to play what she felt was disgusting. The idea about the coma was the final compromise.

Wyman also apparently convinced the crew to give the show a proper resolution and happy ending, hence why the second half on Season 9 was heavily rewritten and actually starts feeling like FC all over again, especially with the last 3 eps.

I do agree that FC starts to feel more like itself once Jane Wyman returns. IDK what the hell we've been watching before then, but when Angela and Michael Sharpe meet in their respective limos, everything starts clicking into place. Not enough to save the show, mind you, but enough to be satisfied with how it ends.

Edited 41 minutes ago41 min by Khan

12 minutes ago, Khan said:

I do agree that FC starts to feel more like itself once Jane Wyman returns. IDK what the hell we've been watching before then, but when Angela arranges to meet Michael Sharpe via limos, everything starts to click into place. Not enough to save the show, mind you, but enough to be satisfied with how it all ends.

Oh that limo scene is everything lol! Actually for me the pieces slowly start to fall into place once Sheri Anderson leaves and the OG season bible was then heavily rewritten. Problem was by that point the show only had Richard, Lance, and Pilar to lean on with newbies Danny, Sydney, Genele (S9’s highlight for me) and a Maggie clone thrown in the mix. It didn’t work.

Come to think of it, Angela and Genele never shared a single scene together. LMAO I can only imagine what occurred if and when they did meet.

8 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Come to think of it, Angela and Genele never shared a single scene together. LMAO I can only imagine what occurred if and when they did meet.

I'm sure Frank would've warned her about Genele ahead of time; and I'm sure Angela would've responded by waving her hand and saying something like, "If I could handle Melissa...!".