Falcon Crest

[kalbir]

Primetime soap reruns were probably more successful on cable. I didn't know Falcon Crest was rerun on Lifetime. Was it in the 1990s? The Soapnet reruns were early 2000s and AFAIK the whole series was not seen again until FreeVee last year.

[Chris 2]

It went to Lifetime very quickly - the late 80s - within a year or two of being rolled out in broadcast syndication. Our local affiliate dropped it after a year or so of airing it at 9:00 am, but it quickly turned up at 8:00 pm weeknights on Lifetime.

[Paul Raven]

July 87

Lifetime cable network has purchased 127 off- network episodes of Falcon Crest from Lorimar Television, a spokesman for Lorimar said. Lifetime plans to launch the series on Monday, Sept. 21. The hour long series, set in the Napa Valley, Calif., vineyards, will be seen weekdays at 8 p.m. (NYT), Lifetime said.

According to Charles Gingold, Lifetime vice president of programing, Falcon Crest "will be a strong addition to the entertainment side of our fall lineup. This high profile program, featuring formidable female leading characters, a celebrity packed cast, ex- citement and intrigue, appeals to Lifetime's highly defined audience of contemporary women."

Falcon Crest is an Amanda & M.F. Production in association with Lorimar Television. It currently airs on CBS, and has been renewed for the next season. Prior to its latest move to Lifetime, Falcon Crest was in syndication for about six months last year, getting clearance in 130 markets. However, according to a Lorimar spokesman, the series was "pulled" because the ratings were "not up to par."

Nov 87

The Lifetime cable network has made several changes in its lineup, effective today (Nov. 2), including a complete revamping of its prime time weekday schedule. The three off network hours, Flamingo Road, Jack and Mike and Falcon Crest, which ran from 6 to 9 p.m., have been replaced by Kay O'Brien, Family (returning to Lifetime's schedule) and Lady Blue. Falcon Crest will move to the daytime schedule at 11 a.m

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Paul Raven

[Chris 2]

LOL I remember Kay “Call me Kayo” O’Brien. I think it had something like 13 episodes. Same with Lady Blue. “Falcon Crest” must have done really poorly for Lifetime for them to prefer such short-lived series and rerunning the same episodes every two and a half weeks.

[kalbir]

IOW, clobbered by Oprah.

I wonder how long the Lifetime reruns lasted and if they broadcast any episodes past the initial five seasons. 

Edited August 30, 2023 by kalbir

[kalbir]

Hired on the cheap to fill both the good mother role and family conscience role. It was strategic that a not very physically attractive actress was brought on so as not to take attention away from the show's new pet Kristian Alfonso.

Foster mother to two boys who lost their mother in an accident and then is drawn to the boys' father and he to her. That whole storyline was like some sort of dust off of The Sound of Music.

Edited September 23, 2023 by kalbir

[soapfan770]

Firing Susan Sullivan wasn’t worth it though as Lauren was so pointless and just wasn’t interesting as a character.

On the flip side that season did have the far more interesting femme fatale character of Genele, although that character was a bit ahead of her time and never like a Falcon Crest, let alone any 80’s primetime soap character at all. 

 

[soapfan770]

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[Khan]

In a way, I think Angela's tightly controlled emotions were what made her more human and relatable than either J.R. or Alexis. 

Angela was a single-minded person.  Her grandfather - at least, I *think* it was her grandfather - had instilled in her a passion to turn Falcon Crest into the "jewel of the Tuscany Valley."  As head of her family's winery, Angela, like any woman looking to make her mark on a male-dominated industry, knew that her work was cut out for her.  However, she was determined to make her grandfather's vision for the land a reality at any costs.  Therefore, Angela had no time for displaying warmth or vulnerability, not even toward members of her own family, because doing so would have distracted her from her life's work: to make FC the best in the valley, and to ensure that it stayed that way for generations to come.

[Chris 2]

Angela reminds me a bit of my grandmother, another tough old bird who had experienced heartache earlier in her life, and developed a tough shell to protect herself from the emotional lows in life, but I think also prevented her from experiencing emotional highs.

[soapfan770]

Don’t forget another key asset to Angela’s “empire” in that Angela also had her power through the newspaper the New Globe a la Katharine Graham and WaPo and obviously for decades controlled a lot of politics at local, state, and federal levels as well in addition to running a prominent vineyard. I’m sure she relished in having control but always wanting a legacy as well. 
 

We do see Angela as a well rounded person and well guarded persona. No doubt she has her emotions and affections but she would never let anyone see her cry. Over the course of the series we did see Angela’s fleeting moments of weakness especially when it came to Emma but we also saw it even on occasions to Chase and Richard. Angela was benevolent but she just wanted to be in charge and in control her way.
 

I don’t know but Angela, Richard, and Melissa always come off as more grey characters that outright antagonists like JR, Alexis etc. 

As @DRW50 I think pointed out back in Season 1 there was a weird episode where Angela kept visiting a handicapped women she once ran over years ago but framed Jason for instead and Cole & Maggie were horrified Angela would stoop that low.

Then in Season 6 that story was revisited and it’s revealed Dan Fixx is the son of that woman from Season 1 so Angela helps Dan for the next two seasons because she has a very guilty conscience.

[Contessa Donatella]

Brown, M. (n.d.). FALCON CREST’s Morgan Fairchild: TV’s Most Typecast Actress Breaks Through the  Blonde Bitch Mold. Soap Opera Digest, 11(8).

Morgan Fairchild Cuts The Fluff!

TV's Most Typecast Actress Breaks Through The Blonde Bitch Mold. Finally.

(Jordan Roberts, FALCON CREST)

By Meredith Brown

I suppose the most surprising thing about her is how bright Morgan Fairchild is. I don't mean bright in that condescending, "You mean a blonde actress has something intelligent to say?" kind of way. I mean bright because she is aware, insightful, articulate & not afraid to express an opinion here & there. Fairchild knows her strengths, her weaknesses & how to win the game in Hollywood. When you realize how often she has been burned in the press for being a fluff with hair, makeup & no talent, you also realize just how tough she is. A further look at her body of work will indicate that Morgan Fairchild is very much an actress with breadth & talent.

Fairchild created some unforgettable characters on television, among them Jennifer Pace Phillips on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; one of the first primetime soap bitches, Constance Carlyle on FLAMINGO ROAD; Racine, the delightfully ruthless modeling agency owner on PAPER DOLLS; and now in her newest & most complex role, the sexually abused multiple personality Jordan Roberts on FALCON CREST.

Fairchild was born & raised in Dallas, Texas & began acting when she was still a child. By the time she was 12 years old, she was performing in dinner theatres & stock productions. She moved to New York in the early 70s, worked on SEARCH, then moved to Hollywood where television roles were plentiful. In fact Morgan originated the role of Jenna Wade on DALLAS. Offscreen she took a weighty part in the critically acclaimed off Broadway hit GENIUSES.

Morgan Fairchild lives alone in Los Angeles with her 3 cats. Single, she can often be found in the company of her sister, with whom she is very close. We met at a Holiday Inn in California's Napa Valley where the FALCON CREST cast stays while on location.

I think my favorite thing about Morgan Fairchild is that she is not afraid to talk about much of anything. Including her age. She is happy to admit that she just turned 36. Not the sort of admission you'd expect from a blonde ball of fluff.--M.B.

"You're Plastic-Looking & You'll Never Work"

I've spent a lot of years getting kicked in the face. I spent 13 years in the theatre before I ever started in television. I have all the stories about standing in the snow in New York for 6 hours waiting to get interviewed for 30 seconds as an extra in a movie. I had 6 years in New York where I couldn't even get an agent because people told me I was plastic-looking & would never work. I was working on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW & I had no agent! Everyone told me I would never work. They told me I'd never work when I was in my 20s & they continued to tell me I'd never do anything.

Well, I don't hear very well.

The Most Tenacious Bitch You'll Ever Meet

I was a very shy kid & hypersensitive. How to mask that sensitivity & deal with things better has been a problem for me. But the one thing my friends never counted on when I first moved to New York is that I'm the most tenacious bitch you'll ever meet. I will keep taking the kicks in the head if I believe something is right no matter how many jobs I lose, no matter how many times I am told I am wrong for this part or that part. I was always wrong for everything & never the right type. But I knew that some way, somehow I would do something. I had a real sense of destiny. Being on a nightime soap was not what I had in mind. ST. JOAN was more what I had in mind.

When I was a kid, I was a finalist in the Miss Teenage Dallas, 1964, contest. All the other little girls were doing a song from MY FAIR LADY. I did a scene from ST. JOAN. I was the 14-year-old idiot who when the judges asked, "Who in America would you most like to meet?" (and every other smart finalist in the 1964 Miss Dallas contest said, "I would love to meet our illustrious president of the United States from our home state of Texas, Mr. Lyndon Baines Johnson,") said, "Rudolph Nureyev." They didn't know who he was. So I had a hard time growing up in Texas. I did not want to be a cheerleader & they did not understand that.

"Honey, Let Me Explain The Facts Of Life To You ... A Good Bitch Is Hard To Find ..."

On my 1st job out here I played a blind ex-Peace Corps worker. I thought , 'Hey, they're gonna let me act.' I never got to play that again. I played a bitch in THE INITIATION OF SARAH & that was it. I wanted to play another role in that movie--the sister who was torn both ways--but they wouldn't let me read for her. I had already read for the bitch & they said, "great, you got it." I said let me read for the other sister & they said, "they want a brunette." I said, "I'll come in with a wig. I'm easy. You need a singer. I sing. You need a dancer, I dance." But they would not let me read for it. "Why?" I asked. And one of the producers said, "Well, honey, you've been in town for 4 months, let me explain the facts of life to you. We can find an ingenue anywhere but a good bitch is hard to find." So I ended up doing that part from which I have worked ever since. It was one of the biggest rated TV movies of the year. I think I probably got offered FLAMINGO ROAD on the basis of that part. I would have liked to have played Lane Ballou, but again, they would not let me play the good girl.

But Don't Naughty Girls Really Have More Fun?

You learn that the bitches control the pace of the show & the pace of the scene. I think that's what Larry Hagman & Joan Collins & I all do is have a good time with it. There is a sense of humor that makes it fun to watch on television.

And What Of PAPER DOLLS: The First Literate Soap Opera?

No matter how well you take it, it hurts when they cancel your show. It hurt when they cancelled PAPER DOLLS, especially because I really liked that show. We were in a terrible time slot, which we knew, but we thought we'd be given a longer time to establish ourselves. It takes a year to establish a soap. And then we had everything going against us. We were pre-empted for the World Series & the presidential elections, but we kept assuming the network would give us more time. I think ABC panicked because they had such problems that season. I think they got very scared & they just lost confidence in their whole schedule.

I was very disappointed because I loved that character & I love doing comedy--they were giving me great dialog. It was the only soap that came on & got good reviews. People were saying that we were the first really literate soap opera.

No Grapes

I was all ready to take a month off for Europe when my agent called & asked if I had any interest in doing FALCON CREST. I'd never gone into a show mid-stride, so to speak, & so I hadn't really considered FALCON or any other show. I had been offered some pilots but turned them down. But I had a meeting with Earl Hammer & we sort of kicked around ideas. They had an interesting story concept for the character; number one that she wouldn't have to be a bitch & number two she wouldn't have to grow grapes. For someone like me, who has been fighting an image problem for the past few years, I felt it was a good opportunity to explore something else.

Another plus was that I would be working with David Selby, who is a friend & someone I worked with on FLAMINGO ROAD. We work very well together. I would also be working with Simon MacCorkindale, whom I met when we were auditioning for something years ago in NY. We had worked on a scene together & he seemed like a nice fellow. I liked the way he worked. There was also the plus of knowing that I had two solid, theatrically trained actors to work with & we might actually have the chance to create something. It was not one of those situations you see so often in TV where there are several pretty boys who don't really know how to do anything.

Playing An Adult Who Was A Child Victim Of Sexual Abuse

I think it is so rare when you find a story line that has not been done to death on TV. Doing this story is a wonderful opportunity to explore something that has come to the forefront in the news & incredible numbers of people are now telling of how traumatic it is for the child. They never really focus on the repercussions of carrying it into adult life--the residual anger & emotional pain that comes about. Hopefully, we'll deal with the self-flagellation, the difficulty of dealing with men, coming to terms with adult relationships--all of that.

I've done a lot of research on the subject. I've been reading autobiographies, been in touch with victims & psychologists. And since starting this research 2 girlfriends have come forward & told me they were victims of the same syndrome. You have no idea how many people are affected by it.

And Finally ... The Biggest Misconception About Morgan Fairchild

People who are close to me know I have a sense of humor & some modicum of intelligence. But a lot of people expect me to either be a bitch or a piece of fluff. "God, you really have a mind?!" I get that a lot. Just because I like to wear nice clothes & have long blonde hair doesn't mean I'm an idiot or a bad guy.

But Can You Act?

Yes, I can act. I'd be pretty stupid to have stuck this out for 25 years if I didn't think I had something to offer.

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Edited October 15, 2023 by Donna L. Bridges
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[kalbir]

 

In a YT video I linked to earlier in this thread of classic film influences on the primetime soaps, one of the influences for Falcon Crest was Wall Street for Gregory Harrison storyline in the final season.

I think she was a mashup of the Daryl Hannah character from Wall Street and The Sound of Music Baroness Elsa Schraeder.

[Contessa Donatella]

  Photo still from FRESNO 

[kalbir]

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That whole storyline was like some sort of take on a classic story that's a tale as old as time.