Falcon Crest

[kalbir]

The regime changes almost overlap w/ the trajectory of the series. Season 1, good start. Seasons 2 and 3, the peak. Season 4, still good but signs of tanking were showing. Seasons 5 and 6, tanking. Season 7, tanking but signs of going off the rails were showing. Seasons 8 and 9, off the rails plus budget mode.

Maybe it's me but I thought venturing into James Bond territory during seasons 2-4 w/ the international crime group and war crimes storylines were attempts to shed the Dallas with grapes reputation, but that wasn't the way to go about it. I guess any series in the 1980s where the focus was on family/business conflicts was going to get compared to Dallas.

Edited April 1, 2022 by kalbir

[j swift]

I don't know why, maybe because of all of the outdoors scenes, but it seemed like Falcon Crest filmed on location in Northern California more often than Dallas (or even Knots)?

I feel like you could always tell when Dallas inserted a prior filmed on location scene into an episode, because as I recall, they would only film on location for a couple of days each season

[FrenchBug82]

That is one of my favorite thing about Falcon Crest - and I find it so striking as I watch some old episodes on IMDBTV.
Falcon Crest was a considerably more a celebration of its location than Dallas ever was, despite the fact the latter was named for the town.
So many pretty backgrounds and a real sense of place beyond the cliche. Dallas relied a bit too much on the stereotypes for me. 

From what I read they would shoot by block: they would shoot interior scenes for 6 episodes, fk=ly up to Napa to shoot exteriors for 6 while the next 6 are written and then shoot the exteriors for those and then back to LA to shoot interiors for the latter 6.
And one of the many things S8 and 9 did wrong is that they were entirely shot in LA.

[Paul Raven]

Dallas always shot the first few episodes of each season on location. I'm not sure for how long that practice continued.

But I recall one episode where everyone was getting blown to bits in outdoor scenes due to the Texas winds,

Victoria had to keep pushing hair off her face to deliver her lines.

Then they would go back to that fake exterior backdrop of the ranch.

Falcon Crest was always lush visually and the house and grounds were very much a character on the show.

Did they have verandah scenes that were shot indoors?

[FrenchBug82]

That infamous scene where Angela comes back home to find Richard slouching on a chair on the veranda after she told him she was his mother and says "I am glad you don't believe me".
I always thought that looked more like a set than it usually did (spacious). I could be wrong

 

 

Thing is while I believe they did, I don't recall any imagery that made you go "Yep, Dallas". I recall scenes in the downtown streets but that could have literally any US downtown.
And the outdoor scenes could have been shot anywhere. There was nothing Texas, let alone Dallas about them besides actors dressed as cowboys - and even that was just about anywhere in the West.

There are a huge deal of scenes at recognizable landmarks and specific Napa Valley locales and generally shots of the Valley that were unmistakable (for a local which I am) Napa and San Francisco in Falcon Crest. 
Dallas had more of an local identity than Knots Landing or Dynasty did but FC still had them beat by a mile.

[Paul Raven]

Thanks for that clip.

Those verandah scenes are definitely shot on the lot. Especially noticeable when they enter the house and we see out the door an obvious painted backdrop.

Also I'm sure the exterior of the FC house and interior shown didn't match the actual floorplan,as is often the case.

Probably the exterior scene by the pool may have been shot on a location nearer to the studio. Makes sense they would find locations nearby that could stand in for the real thing, after the initial location filming was completed.

[Chris 2]

Dallas used film the interiors for the first six episodes at MGM, then would film the exteriors for the first 12 episodes on location, then go back to MGM and film the interiors for the second six episodes. Then, the rest of the season was shot in LA (similar to what French Bug describes above). The final location-based episode would usually be the Ewing BBQ or some milestone episode and then they’d shift to the fake Southfork. They filmed this way until the final two seasons, where they eliminated the location shooting due to budget.

I agree that FC got more out of its location shoots than Dallas did. But it helps that the Napa Valley is prettier, so i think the locations managers had more to choose from. The area around Dallas is not particularly pretty in general. The city itself is kind of non-descript and the area is flat and dry, with lots of strip malls. Other cities in Texas - like Forth Worth and Austin - are much more interesting-looking. I did think that the Dallas revival used the location shooting much more effectively.

The manor house at the Spring Mountain Winery, which was Angela’s house on FC, is much closer to what you see on TV than the real-life Southfork interiors are. The real life Southfork was never used on the original series, and the interior sets were based on another house in the Dallas area. But the Spring Mountain Manor house actually was used for interiors in at least the pilot, and the entrance area and main staircase are the model for the sets they used later on, which adhere to the style of the original house.

[Paul Raven]

Thanks for the extra info. 

I always recall that Southfork never had a front door. Everyone living there would enter via a doorway near the stairs - from the garages/car park I guess.

When there were visitors, they were ushered into the living room, but we never saw them at the front door/porch.

Am I misremembering?

[I Am A Swede]

I think we saw the front door of Southfork on one or two occasions, early on in the show's run.

I think this scene for instance shows the front door:

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by I Am A Swede

[Chris 2]

The funny thing about the Ewings is that they don’t really lead a glamorous lifestyle. They live in a house where everyone enters through a sliding glass door. And they drive Cabriolets and Lincolns and station wagons.

[FrenchBug82]

And they drive their own cars! I remember reading once that Dallas had trouble in Japan because they Japanese picked up on that and had trouble investing in them being rich if they didn't live like it.

Another thing Falcon Crest did right - and it is funny how many fundamental elements it got right while being weaker overall - is presenting wealth in a believable manner, unlike Dallas, but at a level that is not completely unrelatable like Dynasty.

[Chris B]

Now I’m watching season five, which I consider the last traditional season of Falcon Crest before outsiders come in for the final four. This is still a good season, but so far I wouldn’t say I’m loving it as much as four. It seems like once again we start the merry go round of temporary characters who soon are forgotten. Morgan Fairchild has started off very promising, but I recall being annoyed as her story progresses. Then you have Ken Olin as Julia’s soon to be forgotten son. 
 

My favorite things so far are the Coke/Melissa scenes. I always thought they had good chemistry and I’m enjoying them together. The temptation with Christopher and the schemes from Robin with the baby are fun. I like Melissa this way. She’s slightly devious but not evil or crazy.
 

Chase and Maggie also have more spark. I’m glad they acknowledge what a hot head he is. I do wish Connie stuck around longer and I wouldn’t mind if she got into a relationship with Chase. I feel like the writers this season have given Jane Wyman a lot of fun stuff to do. I like her new love interest and that they’ve dialed back the evil. Margaret Ladd is also carrying every scene she appears in. She comes into this season very strong and confident. I also love her new love interest Dwayne. I hope the later season writers understand her and give her good stuff to work with. 
 

The weakest part of the season is Lance and Apollonia. Their chemistry is fine, but to go from Lorraine to this just seems like a waste of time. It took so long to find a strong love interest for him and they threw it away with no apparent plan.

 

[kalbir]

@Chris B Season 5 is where it starts to venture into Miami Vice territory.

[Chris 2]

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, Chris B. I’m about a third of a way through it now. I’m enjoying it. As you said, it’s the last season of traditional FC.

I’m surprised Anne Archer (Cassandra) is still hanging around - long after her revenge storyline was resolved. Not sure why. But I remember that she didn’t make it through the whole season.

The music videos for Babylonia are a bit much. And they had an episode where she sang at a country and western bar (where Emma first met Dwayne) and she was totally off key.

Dwayne and Emma’s romance, BTW, happened way too quickly - before they even developed Dwayne as a character. Robin is another character who deserved more development.

I don’t love Morgan Fairchild’s character. Too brittle.

i do like Ken Olin as Father Christopher, but he has an accent that I find a little distracting. Chicago, maybe?

[Soapsuds]

I'm glad Anne Archer stayed for a bit. It's too bad they had no clue what to do with her.

Babylonia was just a waste of time.

Glad Priscilla Presley took over as Jenna. Morgan Fairchild acting is brittle period not matter who she is play.

Ken Olin was hot!