Thanks for that information - I knew that there was a scheduling issue but not to that extent. You are so right on the other point too-some people as the characters we know and love are irreplaceable.

The return of her husband in the two part season eight premiere was awful. A sign of desperation for the show at this point

And i agree, The recast for Adam Carrington was out of desperation. I know Thomson was absolutely gutted he couldn't return. Robin Sachs did an ok job. The whole reunion mini-series was a mess anyway. The continuity was all over the place. Dex never returned and it was said very slyly he "did't fare that well" following his fall over the balcony. Again, another example of the writers not giving a crap about their characters. As well as the fact that Sable was never mentioned, God knows what ever happened to her. The last we saw of her, she revealed she was pregnant with Dex's baby. Oh and main plot was to do with Krystal being brainwashed to kill Blake. All a load of rubbish.

Yes.

It's odd as one of my other favourite character and actors of the time was Mason Capwell played by Lane Davies. When i learnt that he'd left the shoow i was devastated, then i learnt Thomson had taken over so was somewhat mollified.

Except, when i saw some of his episodes when i visited America in 1991, it didn't feel right. Thomson just wasn't Mason. Mason had lost his spark, his uniqueness even though they'd got an actor i loved in and, on paper, Mason and Adam are similar characters

I know what you mean. Sometimes the reality can be a disappointment after such high expectations, no matter how outstanding the actor is.

I always thought they should have included her pregnancy into her storyline thus creating a lasting link to the Carrington family and concreting her place on the show.

It was an appalling exit for any character but particularly an original one who for the most part was an unique character on the show. She was a favourite of mine and I believe Pamela Bellwood to be the most underrated of all the actresses on the show (obviously not including the ones who simply displayed bad acting)

On the face of it, not writing the pregnancy in did seem an own goal as they could have maybe done a 'who's the father' between Steven and Adam, but i guess they didn't know in time to write it into Season 5 and it would have been too long since she'd last slept with Steven for it to be realistic. So, it could have been Adam's, still irreplaply tying her to the family but I think they were determined to keep Adam thwarted in that department - desperately longing for a baby and something always going wrong. Maybe her being pregnant and then miscarrying would have been a better way to split her and Adam up and her relapse mentally giving what happened with Lindsey rather than the oil well coming from nowhere and her just suddenly deciding Adam wasn't to be trusted.

I do see what you mean though - i think the reason Jeff and Sammy Jo managed to remain viable even when not married to Carrington was because they had given birth/sired Carrington so remain linked due to that. It didn't seem as odd for them to be hanging round the House when they had a kid living there. Whereas Claudia remaining post divorce from both Steven and Adam would have been harder to justfy. She didn't even really have the Danny link by then as Sammy Jo was back and being a Mother by then.

Will do

They had a lot of appalling exits really. Kirby was written out within 2 scenes, dominique one scene, likewise Ben and Clay. Caress looked like she was off to get dirt on Ben for setting her up but never came back. Amanda, left by a lake never to be mentioned again - even her photos disappeared in later seasons! Lesley left in a cabin having been beaten half to death - did she even survive? Considering the first episode of season 9 picks up on the same day that one really is unforgivable. They could at least have put one line in saying she'd been given the all clear at Hospital but was going away after everything that had happened.

Claudia's did seem the worst though because she was an original character.

Matthew's return was reputedly done for 2 reasons - firstly the original planned cliffhanger was scrapped in their mid season retooling when the ratings were sliding - i believe it was meant to be an avalanche. Secodnly Bo Hopkins was having a tough time financially and TPTB decided to give him a break with a couple of weeks work. Which is quite sweet on the face of it but ut was a dreadful cliffhanger and seemed a waste with no Claudia to interact with and them still leaving Lindsay dead.

Michael Praed's character and his character's father were given a swift exit as well. But that was done as a result of scrapping a storyline. The Moldavia arc was hated by fans and by the time the producers finally realised it was awful, they quickly wrote them both out. I believe Alexis was originally going to marry his father and become a queen.

Diahann Caroll was wasted on Dynasty. In her early episodes, it was soon made clear that not only was she Blake's half sister, but she was wanted a stake in his fortune. She was also a bit of a bitch as well. But as time went on, Dominique softened and never did betray Blake. I did read they scrapped a whole arc on Dominique. In fact they scrapped story lines nearly every season. By season 6, Dominique eventually began to fade. They added her daughter in but it never made much difference. Then by season 7, they gave her a love interest and she was quickly written out by going off to marry him. She was never mentioned again. But she was perhaps one of the few Dynasty characters who actually got a happy ending.

According to Kate O'Mara, Caress was written out because Joan Collins went to the producers and said she didn't want another british brunette on the show. So off she went. But apart of me finds this hard to believe. Especially as Sable would eventually join, and of course, she was a british brunette. And Joan had no issue there.

Dominique was originally intended to be Kirby's Mother Alicia - they'd even talked to Kathleen Beller about it (i've got a GMTV interview with her from 1989 when she discusses it and Gordon Thomson is sitting next to her and clearly knew about it as well) but then they changed their mind for a reason that has never been divulged and also decided not to renew Beller's contract - hence the odd and abrupt exit.

I believe there were concerns about the first black character in the show being a bitch - they wanted a positive role model. Also, rumours persist that Joan Collins protected her 'bitch' mantle rather possessively. Whatever the truth of it, it meant dominique was ultimately a wasted character.

For me Fallon and Jeff were the best couple on the programme because there was so much depth to them. I didn't like it when Jeff had a fling with Sammy Jo and Fallon got close to Zorelli.

So was delighted with the reunion episode where it seemed as if Fallon and Jeff would get back together

If the show had been renewed for Season 10 and Collins had refused to return ; there were rumours that Dominique would have returned as well as her bitchy personality which had mostly disappeared in her later appearances. She would have become head bitch of the show taking over Alexsis' throne.

Joan and Kate always seemed very friendly as well.

Was it definately meant to be Joan? I'd just heard that somebody had gone to TPTB to say there were already enough middle aged, glamorous, strong women on ths show and rumours at one time was that it was actually Diahann Carroll rather than Joan.

It was interesting when they brought Sable in, because Sable was The Colby's counterpart to Alexis, but she had a softer side when she moved to Dynasty. She was a rival to Alexis but essentially a "goodie" in the same way that Domnque was. Certainly not a doormat

Apparently it was Joan. But there are so many rumours and stories behind the scenes of Dynasty, You really don't know what to believe. You could actually put together a book from what you find online.

I loved Dynasty but I think I only watched about half the series. I loved villainous Adam, Claudia, and Jeff. My top favourites were Sammy Jo and the original Fallon.

I disliked the wimpy replacement Fallon. Oddly enough I later saw the replacement Fallon, Emma Samms, playing a bitchy character (I think in Models Inc though I only saw one or two episodes of it) and she was OK in that I thought. Why couldn't she have played Fallon a bit more like that?

I lost interest in Dynasty a bit after the Moldavian Massacre. The change in location and long winded antics of the king (Joel Fabiani) pretending to be paralysed and conning Alexis didn't work for me. The story was monotonous, and being isolated outside Denver didn't feel like 'Dynasty' to me. It corresponded with Rita impersonating Krystle. That also went on too long and wasn't too riveting. That said I did persevere (the series did improve again - I especially loved the reemergence and redemption of Sammy Jo) and I saw up to the Sean Rowan, Dana, Leslie Carrington period but I know I stopped following the series before the end and never saw Sable's season.

The loss of Claudia was a real blow. With all the recasts and departures of the original cast having Claudia remain gave stability. But she was also a good character in her own right, had unique qualities, and was well played. The producers goofed letting her go that's for sure. Losing Jeff to the abortive The Colbys was another mistake.

I never really liked any of the re-casts. I just think that Al Corley, Pamela Sue Martin, Catherine Oxenberg, Gordon Thomson were great in their roles with tonnes of charisma and excellent screen presence. I don't know on what criteria they cast their replacements but none really were in the same class. (Samms does have the screen presence, looks, etc. but then Martin was so good she was almost impossible to replace, I guess.) Of the recasts Jack Coleman was the most successful but personally I never really liked him that much. Unlike a soap like Neighbours that crams many more faces into each episode and doesn't focus on 'stars' as such, night time glamorous soaps really do foreground its popular and successful leading players as 'stars' placing them in the spotlight. Once there is a successful star in the spotlight like this, they are very difficult to recast. Neighbours and co with their faster rotation of different characters can slip in a recast more easily.

Exactly. The dynamic between Collins/Beacham in Season 9 was superb and a lot more interesting to watch than the snooze fest that Krystle and Alexis' rivalry became in the later seasons. I like that Sable was much more of a match for Alexis because although the character was softened she wasn't above scheming to bring her Cousin's downfall. She could always match her in their sparring matches too.
I would have hoped that Beacham would have remained with the show if Season 10 had been produced. I liked her platonic friendship with Blake and would have liked her to establish a long lasting relationship with Dex (especially as she was carrying his child at the end of the series).

The other ongoing storyline I liked was Fallon and Jeff, Fallon originally was spoiled but edgy. Bit by bit she softened but was nobody's fool. It was Jeff who could read her like a book and that's what made the dynamic work so well.

Jeff and Kirby, yawn, didn't work
Jeff and Sammy Jo, yawn didn't work

Jeff could read Fallon and Fallon could read Jeff

Tragic Claudia was my favourite Dynasty character. Loved her sparring with Sammy Jo. Loved her shaky grasp of reality and obsession with finding her Lynsey. She worked well when paired with Jeff.
It was a travesty when they killed her off in that La Mirage fire (it should have been Le Mirage with French gender nouns!).

@MelSingleton.

Re Samms' Fallon, she did start playing Fallon as stronger, more independent and bitchier (in short as Fallon) from about midway through season 8 of Dynasty but that was because they started writing her like that again as soon as they split her and Jeff up. Samms also talked to the incoming Producers at the start of Season 9 asking for Fallon to be more spirited, funnier, stronger - again as falln had been under PSM.

So, i have a lot of sympathy for Samms as she could only play what she was given and Fallon from her return in Season 5 right through the Colbys was a victim. I think a big problem was them deciding to paint Jeff and Fallon as this big mutual love story through The Colbys where she basically became the 'little woman'. Through Dynasty, it was Fallon and Jeff with Fallon always having the upper hand re the investment in their relationship. He loved her much more than she loved him. Indeed she could barely tolerate him much of the time early on. In the Colby it became Jeff and Fallon with him as the strong one. Perhaps that was inevitable with it being a show about his family rather than hers. But it damaged the character of Fallon a lot.

Once she was allowed to 'be' Fallon, Samms was fine. She's actually one of the best things about Season 9 imo.

Thanks for this great trip down memory lane!

If I'm honest I always had a softer spot for Dallas rather than Dynasty (though Knots Landing was my favourite of these three). But back in the 70s/80s/90s I watched all of them religiously. Not seen them since so have no idea how well they have aged.

Did anyone else get stupidly excited by the opening credits of the classic power soaps, seeing who was in, who was out and who had been 'updated' (and on a related sidenote the same goes for Sons and Daughters) ?

This doesn't cover every season and the editing is a bit choppy but the Ultimate credit series on youtube is kinda fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfIibAt5SOk

Yes, totally!

Knots Landing was the best for this as I loved their title sequence with the scrolling panels that debuted with season 2. Each season it seemed to get slicker and slicker as they tweaked it each time and of course it changed to reflect cast changes. (They took care to include Sid Fairgate in season two even though he was removed after a couple of episodes when he died in surgery - had they omitted him knowing he was to only appear a couple of episodes it would have spoiled the shock of his death.) Also, the theme music was rearranged a few times which added to the fun. I think season 5 is my favourite version. Though I had stopped watching regularly before the change to the plain white backed opening sequence, once I saw that new sequence I really couldn't watch the show seriously again - it felt like it was a different show.

The Dynasty opener was great too of course though some images seemed slightly contrived - like Sean Rowan in lumberjack drag chopping wood.

Yes I saw Emma Samms' debut as Fallon with amnesia calling herself Randall Adams, and then watched most of The Colbys, but didn't see much of Fallon post-The Colbys, so I didn't see much of her playing the true Fallon. I have liked Emma Samms in other things so it wasn't the actor who was the problem.

I haven't seen Knots Landing yet. Next on my list. I am confident i can shift through 14 seasons.

I liked Dallas to some degree. But Dynasty's glamour and camp won it for me. And i always felt in Dallas, it became the JR Show, especially in the later seasons when it began to lose more and more cast members. Where as Dynasty allowed everyone to shine and it never became The Alexis Show.

Knots Landing is wonderful. By far the best of the 80s soap 'quality' wise in my opinion. It always seemed to have more of a 'soul' if that makes any sense and was very cleverly plotted and scripted much of the time.

It does evolve a lot as it goes on, if camp amd melodrama is what you most enjoy you might find the first couple of seasons quite hard going as they are very 'down to earth' and quite drab but Iu still really like it, especially Season 3. The glamour, money and big business really doesn't kick in until Season 5

The other thing is that they keep the episodic format (stories that start and finish within the one episode rather than it stretching across the season) until season 4 really, with them concentrating on different characters each week and some of them are painfully bad. But much more are good.