Falcon Crest

[Soapsuds]

Funny how she mentions she didnt know what was going on in her own story. That's what a lot of FC fans said in the latter years of the show. Once Melissa was written out of the show.... it went downhill. I hated the way they killed her off. It would have been great had she been able to return during the finale. Actually the show started getting bad once Cole left too. I hated the Brett Cullen character.

Edited December 30, 2010 by Soapsuds

[DRW50]

I didn't know she had been fired - and they fired her with a year or more still on her contract? That's paying money not to use her. What a stupid waste.

Kathleen Sullivan got on my nerves, she was a bizarre newsperson, but I liked that she asked the question about primetime soaps and why they hadn't sustained their audience.

[Soapsuds]

Funny how Anna said not to write in but that's what the fans of Falcon Crest did. They brought her back as a twin lookalike. KS is so 80's...lol

[DRW50]

I had forgotten about the twin. That wasn't a great story was it? How did that end?

Did you ever see Kathleen Sullivan on E News in the mid-90s. She was always wearing short skirts and would put her hand on Steve Kmetko's knee and all that

[Soapsuds]

Nope....bad story...she played Samantha Ross...I kept wishing she was Melissa.....The Samantha character was so out of place on the show......she was just brought in because of fan outcry. Thats what the produces get for firing her. Here is her first scene in spanish version.....I believe Samantha left town..I think they tried the Samantha/Lance route but fans didnt buy it since it wasnt Melissa.

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Edited December 30, 2010 by Soapsuds

[Paul Raven]

Jane Wyman interview where she talks about her movie career and Falcon Crest

http://thecolumnists.com/bawden/bawden52.html

[Chris B]

I finally bought the last season seasons and to prepare I've been re-watching. As I recalled, the first two seasons were largely a bore. Margaret Ladd is the highlight and main reason for re-watching those seasons. Season 3 was entertaining, but seemed to drag on forever and could be too plot driven for my tastes. Season four will always be my favorite season, I just hate the nazi story was dropped midseason. It was perfect and I love the way they were able to tie every character and story (even Julia's return!) into that plot. It just seemed to build and build and build and was delightful to watch. The second half is decent, but can't hold a candle. But this definitely remains one of my favorite seasons.

Since I'm so excited about that final season I'm going to watch the first episode and see how it goes. I've only seen probably three or four episodes from it so I'm very curious.

[DRW50]

Margaret Ladd is superb in the first season episodes I've watched so far (I'm up to around midseason or closer to the end than that). The episode where she was in a dreamlike state wandering around and Lance caused her to have a miscarriage was just some of the best acting I've seen in a primetime soap.

I don't mind the episodes so much because they are setting things up but it annoys me how many times episodes end with the Giobertis being shocked that Angela is a schemer or had a conflict with Jason or might be keeping something secret. Then it's all dropped again. There's also a lot of repetition with Lance trying to learn the secret, or Julia, to no avail.

What confuses me most is how Angela is desperate to keep this secret about Jason's death yet she starts going away all the time. Emma's a mess, Emma's saying things...bye everybody, I'm going to Rome for weeks! Really? Emma's falling apart, don't go near Emma...I'm going into town! Why didn't they have her like Elizabeth on Dark Shadows and she never leaves the estate? There are also the number of times Lance does horrible things (which he never pays for) and she either says, "Don't do that" but then smirks, or she never knows. It undercuts her. There was the episode where he was a dictator while she was away. Wouldn't it have made more sense if she told him she'd set all that up to test him, and he'd failed?

I think Cole, Maggie, and Chase work well in their roles at this time but I still don't understand why they cast such a mature actress to play Vicky if Vicky was supposed to be an ingenue. I also get confused about her age - she never mentions any type of school and then suddenly they say she's in high school. Did I miss something? Then there's the story about her running off because Lance schemed to get her out of the way to cause strife with the family. The scenes got to be a little bizarre, and again I'm not sure about the actress being right, especially when Michael Zaslow (who should have been cast in a stronger role - why not Lance's father, or Chase?) basically tried to get her to start masturbating. Then you have Maggie and Chase wandering around looking for her as a kaleidoscope version of "Chuck E's in Love" plays softly.

The whole episode about illegal immigrants and exploitation was ahead of its time, and I wish they'd kept Vicky's boyfriend, or the A Martinez character, around.

I notice that these episodes seem to have to struggle to integrate the two families in the episodes. Their connections seem a little forced (like Lance getting Vicky to run away, or Angela promising to help with the illegal situation and then it's never mentioned again).

What did you think of Angela's husband, Julia and Emma's father? I liked him, I wish he'd stayed longer, and that we'd seen more of him with his daughters, especially Julia. It was nice to see his relationship with Angela, which seems very complex, and romantic.

[Chris B]

I liked Douglas and his death was fine because it paved the way for more important things. I do think that a major problem with Vicky is that she was related to Lance. It's obvious that Maggie's sister Terry was meant as a Vicky replacement and if you merge the two character it works. I thought Jamie Rose was fantastic, just stuck in a bad role. I wish she was playing the character when she returned and got equally bad stories, but meatier material to work with.

[All My Shadows]

I love Angela's relationship with Douglas and the whole idea of Angela "begrudgingly" spending weekends with him San Francisco. That's a great depiction of a couple who were better divorced than married. How long did he stick around?

I watched the miscarriage episode ("Victims") a few days ago, and yes indeed Margaret Ladd was on a roll the whole hour. She had me roped in with "How's tricks?" and I was hers for the episode. I can't believe they didn't have her credited up at the front of the show like everyone else when she was expected to carry so much of the central storyline in the first season.

To me, it seems like they didn't know how bad they wanted Angela to be in the beginning. Of course they wanted a JR figure, but maybe they were reluctant about making that figure a woman. Sometimes they portray her as "rich old Aunt Angie," but then they have her coming off shadily. They set her up to be a little on the shady side in the very first episode with the whole "The responsibility of turning those dreams into reality...belongs to me" thing at the funeral (which was awesome, you just KNEW Angela was gonna be a sh!t-starter).

I do like the dynamics of the Gioberti family in their house, the whole "fish out of water" thing is really developing well and naturally. I don't really mind Vicky in that context.

I'm eager for season two, though, if only for Ana Alicia.

[Chris B]

Emma isn't in the credits until the third season, I've always wondered why.

Only the first season.

She got nastier as the years progressed, but I don't think she came off too poorly since everybody had their own issues. I will say, the episode where Richard accidently punches her was absolutely classic. It was a long time coming and I love that they played that up with the characters. Nobody really felt sorry for Angela getting punched lol.

[DRW50]

Slowly continuing to make my way through the first season, one disc at a time...

For Love or Money - I actually forgot about this and had to go check up on IMDB. It is yet another installment in the painfully slow discovery by Maggie and Chase that Angela is a living hell. There is a nice understated performance by Bettye Ackerman, whom I believe was on Peyton Place, plays an old love of Jason Gioberti's who was split from him for good after she was nearly killed in a car accident. This story isn't too bad but is a bit pedestrian, especially with the possibilities of a secret room Jason spent years writing and losing his mind in. The high spots are the great scene at the beginning where Lance drives fast, then Angela asks to take over, and drives even faster, and a very strong scene at the end where Angela tries to break Chase by playing a tape that suggests Jason gave up on Chase...only for her to play the full tape (which says Jason would always love Chase) after Chase leaves. The real downside of this is a half-assed story about Lance rebelling yet again. This time he falls in love with a dull girl played by Cindy Morgan, who played Gabrielle Short (who was that?) in a later season. It is impossible to care about this in one episode, at least when the actors are so wan and their entire relationship takes place offcamera. Then this woman gives up on Lance immediately after Angela sweetly pushes her out. What was the point??? This was done over and over.

This also has an unspoken actress playing Melissa. I'm glad they recast!

Family Reunion - The arrival of Lana Turner, who, in spite of not being the best actress, gives a lovely performance. I kept hoping for more between Angela and Jacqueline - I would have saved her for the Emma reveal, as she figures it out quickly and when she's gone it's back to more stalling.

The climax is a scene where Jacquline makes the entire family, including Emma, come over to Chase's home for dinner. Unfortunately this turns into squabbling and momentum is lost. The best part is Angela dressed in Nancy Reagan red and Jacqueline in heavenly white. Is this the last time Jane and Lana filmed scenes together? In the second season they refused to film scenes together.

I do wish we'd seen more of Jacqueline's more manipulative, dark side, which had been referenced before but not really shown in this episode. I would have jettisoned Vicky's fawning over her, which was all too much like Diana from Knots Landing. The scene at the end where Chase asks his mother to stay and this proves that he does love her and need her is a touching moment.

The Candidate - a by-the-numbers "man of the peepul" type of episode, with Chase more dully earnest than ever. I was more interested in the subplot of Emma acting out by stealing jewelery, and Angela going to increasing lengths to keep Emma from facing charges. The main story feels shoehorned into the story and interesting sideplots like Cole's legal problems haunting him and Maggie resenting Chase's selfishness go nowhere. Seeing Andrew Robinson - he really WAS typecast wasn't he? - as the psycho who guns the councillor down just points out the perils of self-contained episodes. Why not have him appear throughout the season, slowly losing everything? Then I might have cared. The scene where he holds Angela hostage was not an Emmy reel for Jane Wyman. The best part of this story is the last scene where Angela, in an overhead shot, listens to the news of Chase's election result. You can feel the ice in the room. It's brilliant.

House of Cards - Finally getting somewhere! A superb performance from Margaret Ladd as Emma realizes how mentally ill she is and is finally able to go to a psychiatrist and talk about some of her pain. Angela plays Julia like a fiddle to get out of this situation. The subplot of Lance working for Douglas finally utilizes Douglas in a way he should have been from the start. I also like Douglas being more aggressive in trying to help Emma, although the "heart attack" scene is a bit cringeworthy. I still think they made a mistake killing him off.

This is also the debut of Ana Alicia, who is a bit wooden, but already has charisma in spades, and clicks instantly with Cole. I wonder if they had any idea just how wonderful she was going to be.

[Paul Raven]

I have only vague memories of this stuff. They burned through a lot of story in the self contained eps.

Always enjoyed FC. It was beautifully photographed and staged.

Edited May 20, 2011 by Paul Raven

[Paul Raven]

Edited May 20, 2011 by Paul Raven

[DRW50]

4/9/87 ad at about 2:05 in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tQBKQ28t1U