Today's promotional still comes from season 8 (I presume this was filmed in late 1987) when the writers decided to shoot their principal villainess Alexis.
Obviously, 'Dynasty' was at this point seriously damaged goods, both creatively and in the ratings department (as was the prime time supersoap genre as a whole), so there was never going to be any kind of "Who shot J.R.?" hoopla around this.
But this was one of the bright moments in an otherwise uninspired and dull season, not so much because of the actual shooting (after all did anyone ever doubt for a split second Alexis would survive?), but rather the fun aftermath.
Alexis, who had simply been a spoiler in the race for the Colorado governorship, not to be taken too seriously, suddenly turns into a serious contender as she hilariously basks in the glory of being a victim of the televised shooting incident.
There was also a modest uptick in the ratings, which was certainly good news after the producers (as one article published at the time alleges) spent the entire season thinking "what the hell are we going to do with the Carringtons this year?"
I was in the US when this episode aired. They advertised it on the radio. The ad was something like that :
ReplyDelete"(deep male voice) Tonight on Dynasty.
Krystle : I won't let her destroying you !
Alexis : You'll never get elected Blake, I promise !
(deep male voice) and then...
PAW !
SCREAMS !
Oh my God !
tonight at 10 on ABC"