I'm happy to say, my favorite season of "DYNASTY" came out on top in our recent "What are your favorite DYNASTY seasons" poll.
The second season of "DYNASTY" that begins with the arrival of Joan Collins as Blake Carrington's ex-wife Alexis Morell Carrington got most of the votes (you were allowed to vote for all seasons that you liked).
I personally couldn't agree more, that was the year when Alexis gave "Dynasty" fresh energy (and soapier storylines).
I especially like the first 4 episodes of the season, I can watch them over and over again.
Most of the scenes take place within the confines of the Carrington property (always a plus with me), there's a sense of exotic mystery surrounding Alexis, she has great chemistry with Krystle, new cast additions gel well with the original cast (I loved Sammy Jo), there's fresh and genuine conflict, the season has strong structure... what's not to love?
It's not very easy to find a new direction for a show following a solid season and a great climax and many shows stumble (season 2 of "Desperate Housewives" comes to mind).
And that is especially hard when that season doesn't do well in the ratings ("Dynasty's" initial ratings disappointed ABC) and the producers scramble to find a new formula that works while facing certain cancellation.
But Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock certainly did it with the brilliant second season.
As far as the look of the show alone is concerned, I probably like seasons 3 and 4 the most. That's when they truly ramped up the glitz, the ladies wore some of the most beautiful outfits of the entire series, and the show got all wrapped in the most luxurious of trinkets.
Or as Gordon Thomson once put it: "it was all so squishily rich - a huge, big sundae for the audience."
I won't go into each season here, as they would require a more detailed and separate analysis, but I'll say I believe the scripts did begin to deteriorate after that second year, though the moment it really begins to upset me is the beginning of season 5, following Pamela Sue Martin's departure.
Some people believe "Dynasty" went down after its 2nd season, some note the resolution of the Moldavian massacre as the "jump-the-shark" moment, some may even say it never happened and they love it all.
For me, the show's decline begins with Pamela Sue's departure, then things improve as the season progresses. But the "Royal Wedding" aftermath is another blow; and finally the new "family-friendlier" direction following "A Love Remembered" in season 7 is where I think the show goes completely off track and into utter tedium.
So, I voted for seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4. Here's how those of you who voted on this poll last month felt:
2 52%
4 48%
5 37%
3 35%
6 & 9 29%
1 25%
7 9%
R 6%
8 5%
4 48%
5 37%
3 35%
6 & 9 29%
1 25%
7 9%
R 6%
8 5%
I loved season 2 but have to say season 4 is my favorite- up until the last episode- I hated to see Pamela Sue Martin leave :( It was never the same for me after that since her character was so central to plot development in the first 3 seasons...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a more detailed and separate analysis of each season from you!
ReplyDeleteSeasons 2-6, and 9 were, in my opinion, the best ones. I also find it funny how even the Reunion is more liked than Season 8.
I agree. Bring on the chat about each season LBColby. I am a Dynasty junkie, have each season memorized and love to dig deep. Thanks for the post and poll.
ReplyDeleteLB has been kidnapped again... Daddy ? Daddy ? Daddy !!!
ReplyDeleteI can't decide... i watch Dynasty episodes frequently and love the show. Joan Collins is my second mother in my head!
ReplyDeleteMarc, if not kidnapped, perhaps he was abducted by aliens, for god's sake, these things happended all the time! Ask Fallon #2!
ReplyDeleteI am watching season 5 and am finding it really hard going. Too much going on at the cost of characterisation. Yet this was the season that took them to the top. I like 2 best and then 4.
ReplyDeleteHmm...It's really hard for me to pick a favorite. But yeah, 2-6 and 9, except that 9's premise of Roger Grimes body being found and people just finding out he was dead was totally incorrect. Alexis returned in season 2 because Grimes had just died and it was finally safe for her to return to Denver. But overall, in spite of the major budget cuts and missing core characters in S09, the character writing, especially for Fallon, was much better. I hate the fact that so many people blame Emma Samms for being a bad recast, when it was totally the writers' fault. For some reason, they were afraid to write the character properly. But in S09, they did, and she proved to be able to be true to the essence of Fallon, without trying to copy PSM.
ReplyDeleteThe worst thing EVER was the inexplicable, dreadful Amanda recast. Is it just me, or were there moments where she feebly attempted an english accent on a word or 2 here or there? Are you telling me that there were NO actresses that were english or able to do an english accent who auditioned for DYNASTY at that time?? Was KC someone's daughter, niece, girlfriend, wife, mistress??
Well, I don't know if there are still people around here in 2019, but it's the best
ReplyDeleteplace to give my opinion, I guess. I've watched 6 seasons so for (I'm starting the 7th right now),
and until now (I'm not sure it's going to change, based on your comments) my favorite is the 6th. Here's way :
- No Jeff drama. This character is empty as hell (well, no, emptier than hell : at least there is fire over
there), and the only thing he did during the five early seasons was to marry, worry, go to bed and marry again.
Here, at least, we get rid of him (I know, he's in The Colbys - but I'm not planning on watching the spinoff, so...)
- Two solid archs. The first part of the season is, of course, over the top. This "adventure" with the fake
Krystle makes no sense... but that's what I liked about it. If I want to watch a show with a rock-solid writing,
I know where to go : The Americans, The Wire, etc. If I watch a soap, I'm thrilled about stupid cliffhangers,
crazy twists and so on. That's exactly what I got with the Rita era. Also, I adored Joel ; his character brought
some of the most disturbing and twisted scenes among seasons 1 to 6. The bath moment is quite bizarre, the
calmness of the broken director establishes an interseting contrast with his criminal behaviour. And when it comes
to the Carrington's Mansion, it's interesting to see how Rita deals - or doesn't deal with - her new life and
all the related implications : having to sleep with Bake, having to be the nice mistress of the house, etc.
Nevertheless, I was kind of fustrated by the brutal and spoiled way it ended, like if they had forgotten to
prepare a proper transition. It didn't ruin everything, but it made this whacky portion of "Dynasty" terminate
on a not-so-high note. But hey, the second part has a lot of things to offer, too : Alexis is back, I mean the
real one, and she makes a perfect match with Ben. Of course, we can blame the writers for having made mistakes
about Blake's past - in 1981, he had lost his mother at 4, and it's not the best age to sweat around an oil rig
or in a woman's bed - but those continuity mistakes forgiven, we can appreciate a non-stop battle between the two
antagonists of the soap, with all kinds of manipulations, aborted attempts, devious schemes (well, the last one
goes to Alexis).
- Steven has a storyline related to his homosexuality. I found it quite ridiculous to "heterosexualise" him that much ;
this time, even if it's not really central, we got a true story based on white/conservative/poch society VS the "abnormal"
lifestyle as they would call it back then. It leads to some interesting moments.
- Amanda has an interesting character developpement. After being manipulated by writers as a Fallon 2.0, she gets
a more personnal treatement (What ? Season 7 ? Celini ? Who ?)
- No boring love stories. It's related to Jeff absence, but not only. In my opinion, the worst moments of the show
are the one with random and quick(sands) marriages, like Kirby/Adam, Jeff/what-was-her-name-again, Steven/Sammy-Jo (it led
to something, but at the time it was not very organic). In this season, we've got nothing this boring... except for Dominique
Deveraux's storyline, which is kind of lame.