On 6/9/2022 at 6:19 AM, Chris 2 said:

I don’t believe Spelling’s ABC soaps ever transitioned to the cheap “shoot on film/edit on video” method that the Lorimar soaps (and most US dramas) used in the late 80s, so that accounts for some of it. I also think Aaron Spelling understood the value of reruns more than Lorimar did, and whenever I see his shows rerun even today, they look like they’re in great shape from a picture quality standpoint. Whereas Dallas - even for the earlier episodes truly edited on film - looks faded and grainy with all kinds of dust and dirt. I’m guessing Spelling took better care of his library, but wish I knew more details - I’m just speculating.

Bad news for you i Think they did, i've finished season 9 a few days ago, and there's a lot of Scenes that read as Video despite restoration

 

 

An August 1987 Evening Magazine episode. At around 34 minutes there's a segment on the upcoming season of Falcon Crest. They interview various  cast, including the expected tiptoeing around Jane Wyman's diva ways as well as a great deal of talk about sexing the show up and on relying so heavily on guest stars - essentially saying that viewers watch to see old faces popping in rather than the rest. Lorenzo Lamas even sings The Love Boat theme just to make the point clear. The funniest part for me is probably Lauren Hutton saying flat out she was happy to take the job because of an impending strike and she knew she could just get in and out as fast as she could.

https://archive.org/details/WJZ-EVMAG-132-003

@Soapsuds @Joseph @soapfan770 @Paul Raven @I Am A Swede @te. @victoria foxton @Vee @kalbir @Chris B @Chris 2 @FrenchBug82

 

Ana Alicia interview at around 29 minutes.

https://archive.org/details/WJZ-EVMAG-111-001

 

I Knew Abby Dalton's Birthday (in This case her would be 90th) was in August but apparently it already happened, anyway some nice clips have been posted, including one from the original Pilot! Which is great considering there was nearly no Julia scenes on Youtube

And This One Has such a Bonus:

 

On 8/13/2022 at 12:06 PM, DRW50 said:

An August 1987 Evening Magazine episode. At around 34 minutes there's a segment on the upcoming season of Falcon Crest. They interview various  cast, including the expected tiptoeing around Jane Wyman's diva ways as well as a great deal of talk about sexing the show up and on relying so heavily on guest stars - essentially saying that viewers watch to see old faces popping in rather than the rest. Lorenzo Lamas even sings The Love Boat theme just to make the point clear. The funniest part for me is probably Lauren Hutton saying flat out she was happy to take the job because of an impending strike and she knew she could just get in and out as fast as she could.

https://archive.org/details/WJZ-EVMAG-132-003

@Soapsuds @Joseph @soapfan770 @Paul Raven @I Am A Swede @te. @victoria foxton @Vee @kalbir @Chris B @Chris 2 @FrenchBug82

 

That was great fun! Thank you!

I think I saw another prime time soap connection as well. I'm pretty sure that Deborah Rennard, who played Sly, J.R:s secretary on Dallas, featured in an ad for Sizzlers at around 2:30.   

9 minutes ago, I Am A Swede said:

That was great fun! Thank you!

I think I saw another prime time soap connection as well. I'm pretty sure that Deborah Rennard, who played Sly, J.R:s secretary on Dallas, featured in an ad for Sizzlers at around 2:30.   

Good eye.

The 8th season finale was interrupted in the Eastern and Central time zones by news coverage of Tiananmen Square. I wonder how many complaints CBS affiliates got.

 

 

After doing a second/third rewatch of Falconn Crest I just have to laugh/mourn over what FC could have been vs what it could have been.

Mark Snow’s score for seasons 6-7’ was the definite highlight. Snow of course cemented his career with the X-Files.

Yet every episode had to have Angela and David making callous pointless remarks.

Falcon Crest sucks especially after Season 5 and the whole Pamela Lynch face lift thing. 
 

Who the heck cares about Morgan Fairchild, Erin Jones and her sister lol

8 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

After doing a second/third rewatch of Falconn Crest I just have to laugh/mourn over what FC could have been vs what it could have been.

I agree. All the ingredients were there for a great show (the family/business conflicts, the soap elements, the acting talent) but the execution squandered the potential. I have a feeling that network interference and backstage drama played a big part in that.

3 hours ago, kalbir said:

All the ingredients were there for a great show (the family/business conflicts, the soap elements, the acting talent) but the execution squandered the potential. I have a feeling that network interference and backstage drama played a big part in that.

I feel like the acting was the major failure. 

Lorenzo Lamas, Robert Foxworth, and Billy Moses were very wooden as the male leads.  Margaret Ladd and Abby Dalton lacked any sense of nuance and made a mockery of mental health issues, even though their characters were never given proper diagnoses.  Dana Sparks and Jamie Rose were underdeveloped.  And Cliff Robertson and Gregory Harrison seemed to sleep their way through scenes.

The guest stars were laughable, from Gina Lolabrigida still trying to be sexy in her older years to Lana Turner whose face could no longer move, Cesar Romero still playing his character from Batman, and the well-past-their-prime Leslie Caron, Ursula Andreas, and Rod Taylor.  I would excuse Kim Novak, who was still an intriguing actress that was able to carry a very convoluted plot on her back.

So, we're left with David Selby who was sexy, but could only really play intense, especially when compared Bill Devane. Susan Sullivan and Jane Wyman who were the obvious highlights.  Laura Johnson and Ana Alicia who had the capacity to be the leads, but got the raw end of the stick.  And Chao-li who never got his due.

In comparison to Knots, or even Dallas, whose actors were able captivate an audience regardless of the writing, FC was just a cast of good looking people.

19 minutes ago, j swift said:

I feel like the acting was the major failure. 

Lorenzo Lamas, Robert Foxworth, and Billy Moses were very wooden as the male leads.  Margaret Ladd and Abby Dalton lacked any sense of nuance and made a mockery of mental health issues, even though their characters were never given proper diagnoses.  Dana Sparks and Jamie Rose were underdeveloped.  And Cliff Robertson and Gregory Harrison seemed to sleep their way through scenes.

The guest stars were laughable, from Gina Lolabrigida still trying to be sexy in her older years to Lana Turner whose face could no longer move, Cesar Romero still playing his character from Batman, and the well-past-their-prime Leslie Caron, Ursula Andreas, and Rod Taylor.  I would excuse Kim Novak, who was still an intriguing actress that was able to carry a very convoluted plot on her back.

So, we're left with David Selby who was sexy, but could only really play intense, especially when compared Bill Devane. Susan Sullivan and Jane Wyman who were the obvious highlights.  Laura Johnson and Ana Alicia who had the capacity to be the leads, but got the raw end of the stick.  And Chao-li who never got his due.

In comparison to Knots, or even Dallas, whose actors were able captivate an audience regardless of the writing, FC was just a cast of good looking people.

The show was so Directionless, On Season 1 and early season 2 Emma was Cleary mentally ill, Suddenly after a short stay she was "normal", Julia's Insanity was justified by her several disappointments and frustrations, Abby did a decent Job, but Julia's Insanity was Suddenly diminished when she resurrected on Season 4, Jamie's Vicky had an Enormous Potential that was never fully explored, Dana Had a totally different vibe and while they seemed to try to explore her, she too fell through miserably, I blame The Production Problems and changes in Executives, The show never had a determined direction, it seemed to change every season

I think the criticism of the depiction of mental illness is being viewed through a modern lens.

Back then things played fast and loose in that regard. 

They were just plot points and were acceptable at the time in movies/TV.