80's Primetime Soaps

[Koach]

Anyone else fans of shows like Dallas, Knots Landing, Falcon Crest, Dynasty, The Colbys, etc.? I first got into Dallas when I was 10 years old in 1998 through the reruns on TNN. I later saw the other shows on SoapNet, which sadly no longer shows them. A sequel to Dallas is supposed to start filming next month. Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy have already signed on to appear.

[mark speck]

Both Dallas and Dynasty were my favorite TV shows at different times in my life...oddly enough, I stopped watching both 'cause I lost interest!

I liked Knots Landing as well, and the unsung Flamingo Road.

Best,

Mark

[nosey]

I watched Dallas, Knots Landing and Dynasty. I used to be president of our civic association and our general membership meetings were on the first Wednesday of the month. I remember shutting down the meeting with a unanimous vote because Dynasty was coming on @ 9:00p and Crystal and Alexis were going to mix it up that night! LOL!

[smark21]

I enjoyed Falcon Crest the seasons Lana Turner and Kim Novak guest starred for the season. Turner was supposed to become a long running character, but Jane Wyman was threatened by Lana and her star quality and demanded that Turner's character be killed off.

[roger]

In Britain these U.S. series were often galled "Glossy Soaps", to distinguish them from the low budget British series like "Coronation Street", "Eastenders" and "Emmerdale Farm".

"Dallas" and "Dynasty" were huge hits in Britain, and special media attention was given to any of the cast who had obvious British connections .. most notably JOAN COLLINS in "Dynasty". The spin offs from "Dynasty" were popular too .. it used to be quite clever the way they interlinked some of the story lines between the different series.

I used to enjoy them .. was a big fan of "Falcon Crest" .. I remember one story line it it where one of the leading characters had a brain tumour which could only be cured through some revolutionary new surgical procedure. When her family visited her in her hospital room she was sitting up in bed recovering. They hadn't even shaved her head and she had a bandage around the OUTSIDE of her hair .. now that WAS revolutionary ..

There was also a Spoof of the genre called "Peanuts" about peanut growers in Fresno, California .. it was a bit hit and miss and only lasted one series as I recall. The main storyline was that one of the characters found out he had been adopted as a child and set out to find his birth parents without telling his adoptive parents. Turned out his birth parents and adoptive parents were one and the same .. they had given him away as a child and then adopted him later when they had the means .. hilarious.

Roger

[topdiva1]

I enjoyed Falcon Crest the seasons Lana Turner and Kim Novak guest starred for the season. Turner was supposed to become a long running character, but Jane Wyman was threatened by Lana and her star quality and demanded that Turner's character be killed off.

Jane Wyman always was a PLAIN JANE>

Loved Diahann Carroll on Dynasty - she and Alexis were too much!

[arrr&bee]

WELL LET'S SEE THERE'S...IVORY-DOVE-IRISH SPRING...[Jai come away from there this minute]..OH OH GOTTA RUN,HEHE!!!

[smark21]

Jane Wyman always was a PLAIN JANE>

Loved Diahann Carroll on Dynasty - she and Alexis were too much!

Wyman had more acting chops than Turner, but did not have Lana's glamour or charisma. In the late 50's, Turner more or less replaced Wyman as producer Ross Hunter go to star for his glamourous melodramas.

[nomis]

Smark my friend I have to disagree...I think Lana was a much better actress than Jane...as Lanas character fell into obscurity and alcholism in Madame X I thought she gave a remarkable performance..I cant think of anything Ive seen in Jane in that captured the haggardness the seamy side of a broken spirit that Lana managed to get in Madame X..sure its pure soap opera melodrama but she packs a double punch in that movie..what Jane movies do you suggest I check out? cheers

[smark21]

Smark my friend I have to disagree...I think Lana was a much better actress than Jane...as Lanas character fell into obscurity and alcholism in Madame X I thought she gave a remarkable performance..I cant think of anything Ive seen in Jane in that captured the haggardness the seamy side of a broken spirit that Lana managed to get in Madame X..sure its pure soap opera melodrama but she packs a double punch in that movie..what Jane movies do you suggest I check out? cheers

I agree on Madame X. Lana's work in the second half of the movie, when her character goes on the skids, is among the best work of her career. She was very real and emotionally intense. And I do prefer Lana over Jane Wyman, Lana is a lot more fun, glamourous and charismatic. In her younger days, she did quite well in light comedies like Slightly Dangerous. And when given a good contemporary melodrama like Ziegfeld Girl, Bad and the Beautiful, Peyton Place, Imitiation of Life, Postman Always Rings Twice, Portrait in Black, or Madame X, among others, she was perfect as she was committed to the melodramatics.

But from a strictly acting standpoint, I give the edge to Jane--Lana had charisma and natural star quality which saw her through some roles, Jane had to rely on training. Three Jane Wyman films to check out: All That Heaven Allows, a Douglas Sirk film about a widow who falls in love with her gardener which upsets her awful children and her gossip friends in the country club set, Johnny Belinda, in Wyman plays a deaf mute girl who gets raped [[Wyman won an Oscar), and The Glass Menagerie, based on the Tennessee Williams play. Jane plays the awkward daughter Laura who is set up on a blind date with the Gentleman Caller.

[mark speck]

Roger--I believe the program you're talking about was Fresno, and it wasn't a short-lived series, but a mini-series event.

Best,

Mark

[arrr&bee]

LUX..DO THEY STILL MAKE LUX SOAP? HMMMMM...[Jai what is wrong with you? this is an intelligent post about tv soap operas]LUX USED TO BE BIG ON TV[Jai you're gonna give me an ulcer] I BET IT'LL LOOK GOOD ON YOU TOO!!

[roger]

Roger--I believe the program you're talking about was Fresno, and it wasn't a short-lived series, but a mini-series event.

Best,

Mark

Yes Mark .. on reflection I think you are correct .. and a quick google has confirmed it was called "Fresno" .. even found some info on it ..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090435/

Thanx ..

Roger

[theboyfromxtown]

There's a new BBC TV series that is sure to become a hit with "my crowd". It's called Mrs Brown's Boys. The first 3 episodes are still available to watch. Mrs Brown is a bloke in drag who owns a camp selection of cardigans.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00x17n9

Meanwhile, Channel 4's "Shameless" has finished for another season.....sadly