Anne Compton (original name in the script), renamed Bowen, was not part of the season 9 bible. The character was developed during the scriptwriting process for these episodes, as was the reveal of Danny as Richard's son. We addressed the issue in depth in our newsletter series "The Secret FALCON FILES". Again, the season 9 showrunners had no structured long-term plans for the season and just randomly "developed" things out of the blue from one writers' meeting to the next week by week, which is why the season constantly shifts focus, becomes partly episodic, ignores prior story points and oftentimes introduces new storylines just to abolish them again almost in the same breath. That is what transpires from the "development" papers (actually false labeling for this kind of "bible") and early script drafts. It's so different from the show's earlier structured development and writing (and from any usual production habit), hence so bad.
I think the showrunners felt, while season 9 was on the air, that the series was going nowhere, and with CBS threatening to pull the plug, hiring Susan Blakely was probably one of their last attempts to adhere to the former glorious special guest star policy of the show although Susan Blakely was hardly of the same caliber as Lana Turner, Celeste Holm, Kim Novak or Leslie Caron, just to name a few prior celeb guests.
I tried to interview Ms. Blakely years ago, and she was receptive at first. However, when she got my questionnaire, so she could prepare for the interview (something I got used to upon the request of various of my early interviewees), Ms. Blakely's husband (!) wrote back to me that she chose not to comment and is no longer available. I thought it was a cowardly move to have someone else reply on her behalf. My questions certainly weren't offensive, particularly because I thought her performance was one of the few decent things about season 9, so I can only assume why she changed her mind. Of course, my questions didn't gloss over season 9, but none of them contained anything that would have criticized her performance (which was rather good, I think, considering the trashy material the actors were given at that time). But, of course, it included some questions about how the cast got along and how talent got along with the show's current regime, which I think is legitimate for quality journalism.
I assume those two questions, which were the only ones that addressed the final season's severe problems in a very moderate way though), were a problem for her:
- You appeared in the final season of “Falcon Crest”. After you left, there were only three more episodes until the series was canceled. How was the atmosphere on the set in general while you were there? In particular, did the cast and crew feel that the end of the series was inevitable? If so, what did they think and say about the reasons for the show’s decline?
- As you may know, Susan Sullivan — who you worked with on “Rich Man, Poor Man – Book II” — was one of the “Falcon Crest” core cast members for more than eight years. The new producers, who took over the show in its final season, wanted a new direction and wrote her character off. Was Susan Sullivan’s dismissal a topic the cast and crew talked about, particularly since her salary covered the paychecks for three new cast members (Gregory Harrison, Wendy Phillips and Andrea Thompson)?
I always use the same introduction when I send my questions before doing the actual interview, stating that the interviewee is free to drop any questions they don't like. I wonder what she was thinking, but I thought the way she backed out was utterly unprofessional.
