37 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

What year was this from? 

5 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

What year was this from? 

1984

I can't remember: didn't she (Linda) die in that plane crash?

37 minutes ago, Khan said:

I can't remember: didn't she (Linda) die in that plane crash?

Yes she did. Well, technically I guess she died after the plane crash due to the injuries she sustained.

Edited October 15Oct 15 by I Am A Swede

I wouldn’t call her a regular. She wasn’t listed in the opening credits or even after the episode title at the beginning of the episode. She was listed with the guest stars in the closing credits.

On 10/15/2025 at 12:09 PM, Khan said:

I can't remember: didn't she (Linda) die in that plane crash?

What a mistake the show made there tbh. I actually liked her as Linda, and killing her off so we the audience could suffer through 2 seasons of miserable Cole/Melissa melodrama and Melissa have her 1st round of going bonkers crazy just wasn’t worth it. 

On 10/8/2025 at 1:51 AM, Paul Raven said:

THE biggest mistake the show ever made, and it ruined them forever. There were occasional good times after - but the show (such as it was) was destabilized forever. 

TBH, I'd have to agree with TV Guide, or whoever printed that article: the Gustav Riebmann arc was pretty far-fetched.  On the other hand, it probably looks like kid's stuff when you compare it to the Thirteen, lol.

9 hours ago, YRBB said:

THE biggest mistake the show ever made, and it ruined them forever. There were occasional good times after - but the show (such as it was) was destabilized forever. 

Agree.

5 hours ago, Khan said:

TBH, I'd have to agree with TV Guide, or whoever printed that article: the Gustav Riebmann arc was pretty far-fetched.  

That storyline was a James Bond/Raiders of the Lost Ark mashup.

9 hours ago, Khan said:

TBH, I'd have to agree with TV Guide, or whoever printed that article: the Gustav Riebmann arc was pretty far-fetched.  On the other hand, it probably looks like kid's stuff when you compare it to the Thirteen, lol.

LOL the Thirteen really did a number on the show. I suppose it might have been a nice callback to Richard’s cartel days but the story was over the top. It did finally make Eric Stravos finally interesting as a psychopath after spending Seasons 5, 6, and early Season 7 as basically a Lance clone. 
 

I do wonder though if the show would’ve been better off just to complete the Gustav Riebmann arc   as planned rather shift gears mid-season.

(Oddly four years later Dynasty would feature a similar story involving Nazi treasure on the Carrington Estate.)

The Rossini revenge story was good on paper and had the talents of Anne Archer and Celeste Holm but was for whatever reason executed poorly.

The whole debacle of Robert McCullough firing Ann Marcus and then McCullough getting fired himself certainly did the show no favors either.

 

I've pointed out before that Falcon Crest had the ingredients to be a great show but the execution squandered the potential and I think network interference and backstage drama played a big part in that.

The regime changes pretty much line up with the trajectory of the series.

Season 1: Wealthy Waltons in modern day California wine country. Good start that builds the foundation.

Season 2 and 3: Dallas with grapes/James Bond hybrid. Peak.

Seasons 4 and 5: Dallas with grapes/James Bond hybrid in season 4 and starts tanking during the final 10 episodes. Dallas with grapes/Miami Vice hybrid in season 5 and tanking fully cemented.

Seasons 6 and 7: High octane action-packed thrill ride. Season 6 still tanking. Season 7 starts going off the rails. Season 7 feels like the natural end point.

Season 8: Off the rails plus budget mode. Not necessary and chore to get through.

Season 9: Off the rails plus budget mode. Not necessary and painful to get through.

Agreed that cutting the Nazi treasure storyline short ultimately wrecked it. Yeah it was farfetched but it was fun and better than the stuff that came after.

Rare ad featuring Wyman advertising  the 1985-86 season finale (Earthquake) which aired on a Thursday night in Knots usual timeslot. 

 

9 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Rare ad featuring Wyman advertising  the 1985-86 season finale (Earthquake) which aired on a Thursday night in Knots usual timeslot. 

 

The season finale ranked higher in the ratings, placing #10, but had a lower rating of 17.9/31 compared to the previous week's 18.8/32 rating, which placed 12th for the week.