Falcon Crest

[DRW50]

This very loopy David Selby interview with Leta Powell Drake is fun.

 

[yrfan1983]

S2E5 “The Expose” was a snoozer. A wheel-spinning ep. I guess even the best soap has one occasionally.

But E6 “Home Away From Home” was a blast! It really kept my attention and had lots of lines and details that made me LOL. (Why is Richard drinking milk when Cole confronts him, hee hee)

I wonder if the writer and director makes a difference… ep 5 was written by Garner Simmons and directed by Harry Harris. Ep 6 was written by Kathleen Hite and directed by Bill Duke.

Lana Turner is such a breath of fresh air. Love her sparring with Maggie. 

Overall it was nice seeing Susan Sullivan back in the spotlight, but Maggie is way overbearing with both her children who are grown adults.

The show had a surprisingly big budget for lots of on-location San Francisco filming. The shots of Melissa driving her car down the windy Lombard St, and Lance and his girlfriend on the balcony overlooking the bay, are just gorgeous.

(The fact that I have no idea what the girlfriend’s name is, points out what a bland character and actress this is. Major mis-cast).

I’m surprised Angela still thinks Melissa is a “good girl”. Melissa’s fake behavior seems pretty transparent and Angela is usually on top of things.

[soapfan770]

 

I’m about halfway through with Skyler’s “suicide” and it’s definitely a high octane action-packed thrill ride, made even better with Mark Snow’s electrifying and atmospheric score.  Definitely a major improvement over Season 5 and even the latter half of Season 4.

There’s also especially lot of fun with the dry humor and countless memorable zingers from Angela, Richard. Lance, Melissa and Emma in each episode.

Highlights for me are Lance/Melissa redux, Tony’s return, Richard’s problems with Erin Jones along with Meredith’s revenge, and the whole Kit Marlowe/Skyler caper (although why does Kim Novak (and Robert Stack) have a 10 year old son lol?) which is fun along with Angela/Peter drama. Also Angela’s assistant for the season Mrs. Whittaker is a hoot.

A mixed reaction for me is Emma’s storyline. It seemed like she gained some strength following Dwayne’s death and coping well but the stuff with Great Karlotti is just so hokey and Emma getting used again is getting old. 

Disappointing that the show let both Julia and Cole go without trying to salvage or keep them. The first few episodes were nice as it felt like the show was whole with the original characters again. 

Lowlights for me are definitely are Chase and Maggie’s material breakup and Dan and Vickie. The whole Jeff Wainwright thing dragged out too long, and Chase & Maggie’s breakup is frustrating mainly because Chase is a total ass (intentionally so by the writers and Foxworth as I now understand) and there is also zero communication between them. 

Dan and Vickie work on paper, but the casting is just flat and generic. “Bad girl” Vickie is just another wannabe 80’s cool chick and Dan morphs into a generic Cole replacement. 

I forgot Eric Stavros was on this show for a long time which is odd to me because all he is at least for Seasons 5 & 6 is just another Lance clone before his descent into madness and villainy in S7. 

[soapfan770]

Ha ha ha I remember Richard asking Melissa if he looked like a dangerous man as he drank milk. 
 

If I recall the girlfriend‘s name was Lorie and I feel like the character was actually played by a couple different actresses. 
 

I can’t remember when Melissa turned sour for Angela, but it seems to occur with Angela learning Joseph’s true paternity. 

[j swift]

I still adore the way that Susan Sullivan pronounced Lana's name - Jacqueline - with a perfect accent no matter her mood.

 

[yrfan1983]

Oooh you’ve got me excited for season 6. I watched the original airings as a high school freshman but I have literally no memory of it for some reason. I remember tons of hype in the media for Kim Novak.

Please register in order to view this content

I think you’re right! The recast makes the character less memorable plus neither actress was too talented.

I noticed that… and then Cole sounds very unsophisticated when he pronounces it the “American” way

[Chris 2]

Angela never pronounces Jacqueline’s name right, but she often mispronounces her own family name (“Geobirdy”) so what do you expect?

Season 6 is too campy for my taste, with all the stunt casting. Kim Novak couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. The way the Chase/Maggie breakup was handled was a huge turnoff. And I thought the synthesized music was out of place.

That said, Season 5 was kind of a snooze so I understand why they brought in a new producer. I just wish it had been someone who would have kept some continuity with previous years instead of making such jarring changes. The producer, Jeff Freilich, bragged about having never watched any of the previous episodes. And the show went completely off the rails in season 7, the last of his tenure.

I hated the Jeff Wainwright story. Figures that’s the one thing Freilich did keep from season 5.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Chris 2

[kalbir]

That storyline was awful (it was sort of a dust off of that slimy film producer from season 2). When I mention inconsistencies and plot holes that are apparent when watching daily or binge watching, it's this storyline that comes to mind.

Season 6 had a rewrite to add an assault to lead to a who's the daddy storyline. Season 5, the kidnapping/hostage there was no indication of an assault (clothing was intact and no injuries). In the rescue, no mention of an assault to the police. In the hospital, no medical exam or tests or medications. 

Maybe 1986 primetime soap viewers didn't think it was irresponsible to use an assault as a plot device, but through a 2023 lens it certainly is. I'd even say by 1991 it would be considered irresponsible.

 

[Soapsuds]

Watching Barnaby Jones and who appears but Robert Foxworth. 

Was he in the running to play JR on Dallas?

[soapfan770]

Agreed on all points. 
 

Originally Chase was supposed to end to die but somehow Foxworth was convinced to remain one more season. The original intent was to have Chase turn into a bitter villain who failed anger management classes, but someone else thought that went too far so they threw in the whole pregnancy wrench. 
 

They easily could have had Richard and Maggie have grief sex over Terry’s death if they wanted a Who’s The Daddy plot. I guess the whole thing was to make Chase so detestable he wouldn’t be missed. Very difficult and hard to watch, they should have just stuck with the plan to kill Chase off. 
 

One other strange plot inconsistency is who exactly is Dan Fixx’s mother lol. In Season 1 there’s a paralyzed woman who Angela is a benefactor because she hit her while speeding and blamed it on Jason or something and feels indebted to. Apparently Dan maybe her son, but it’s never clear at all other than the story Angela tells Peter is very similar to that of the woman back in Season 1. 

[Chris 2]

Yeah, Robert Foxworth was considered to play JR Ewing. Dallas never would have gotten past its first short season with that casting. Larry Hagman had the wonderful gift of being able to make an unlikeable character likable. Foxworth wasn’t even able to make a likable character likable.

[I Am A Swede]

Please register in order to view this content

  How true! I could never stand self-righteous Chase and always rooted for Angela to crush him.

[Soapsuds]

Please register in order to view this content

He was playing a JR type on Barnaby Jones. He was quite good but not likeable.

I have a feeling the producers of Dallas saw him in that role.

Same

[yrfan1983]

S2E8 “Choices” - whoa, Tony recast! I guess John Saxon wasn’t available. Robert Loggia is a fantastic actor but he didn’t give me Tony Cumson vibes. Oh well

The filming of Tony and Julia’s reunion by director Bill Duke, on location at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, was stunning! Too bad their lack of chemistry left me cold.

29:00 made me lol! Julia walks in with that freshly f****d look and Angela says “you’ve been with Tony, haven’t you”

Richard asking for his drink of choice, milk, was another LOL moment - maybe it soothes his heartburn?

[yrfan1983]

S2E9 “The Vigil” - I knew this would be a wheel-spinning ep simply by the title. Clearly everyone would be standing around the baby, just waiting… snooze…

Richard is quite the sneak! He got credit for really nothing at all. The Russian doctor admitted that the medications had to run their course before Melissa could go in to hold the baby. So really the Russian doctor did nothing. I’m imagining the American doctor, cursing off in the corner.

Emma on the bus, boring her seatmate to sleep, was magic… reminded me of a similar scene from the movie Airplane. 

Maggie on a Hollywood studio lot feels cliche, though perhaps in ‘82, it was more novel.

S2E10 “Confrontations” - I can’t believe Maggie even went to the beach with Darryl! Wearing a bathing suit! She is a happily married woman! And then she let Darryl kiss her, and she went to shower pre-intercourse before she came to her senses.  I don’t feel the writing supported this, but oh well…

Wow, such fanfare given to Vicki’s 10k, lol!! So many extras and so much budget. Not sure if the story warrants it, but I appreciate the lushness of the scene.

I’m a SF Bay Area native so I’m always trying to discern which scenes were filmed on location in the LA area and which in the SF/wine country area. The 10k scene to me looks to me to be filmed in St Helena (Napa wine country) due to the redwoods in the background - but I could be wrong. Definitely, some scenes are filmed in the St Helena area.

So thrilled to hear of Jacqueline’s imminent return!