I've watched the first two episodes of THE COLBYS so far.
Let me give a breakdown of what I've liked thus far:
1) The glitz and the glamour. DYNASTY (as many of you are well aware) was the first night-time soap opera I got into. It opened the door to me learning and eventually enjoying the rest of them. That being said, it's good to see this excessive, over-the-top glamour again. And the Colbys are richer than the Carringtons. It's fabulous.
2) The "look" of the show is great. Piggy-backing off the first comment, the wealth of these types of soaps is exceptional. It's insane that people can be this rich. What problems could they have with that much money? But we know money doesn't solve everything....
3) I think the story lines (or at least what's being set-up thus far) is quite good. It's definitely better what DYNASTY was offering around the same time. It's easy and somewhat inevitable to draw comparisons between THE COLBYS and its parent show, especially in terms of style, writing, and the characters.
4) The acting is good and the cast is beautiful. It wouldn't be Aaron Spelling eye candy if beautiful people didn't clutter the cast of characters. We're surrounded by beautiful people playing unbelievable characters.
I've watched the first few episodes of THE COLBYS on probably two occasions prior to my current viewing. The one thing that stands out to me every time is just how whiny Emma Samms is as Fallon. Of course, I know the character had been threw a lot (and that Emma Samms is no Pamela Sue Martin), but it just gets on my nerves a little. But I know the whole Jeff/Fallon/Miles love triangle that's been set-up will provide some good drama. Fallon's torn between two good-looking, successful young men. That always makes for a good soap opera story.
Sable is basically the Alexis of this piece. Her sharp-tongued quips and expressions let me know I'm going to enjoy my ride with her stories and one-liners. On the flipside, Frankie is basically the Krystle of this show, even though her decision to double-cross Sable and have an affair with Jason is totally wicked and I don't like Frankie for it. In the end, I feel like it's going to justify at least some of Sable's behavior.
The heads of the Colby family are brother and sister Jason and Constance Colby. Jason is basically a harder version of Blake Carrington. He seems a little tougher and more threatening. Jason seems to know that he's somewhat of a (sometimes) dirty businessman, while Blake tries to hide it behind a "good guy" image. Constance is a good addition to the ensemble. I can't help but think the writers wanted Barbara Stanwyck on the show as something of a counter to Jane Wyman on FALCON CREST; that older, Old Hollywood royalty playing a family matriarch, even though Constance is more mothering and "sweet" whereas Angela Channing is conniving and out for the money.
The Colby children are basically what I expected them to be. I'd say Miles is THE COLBYS version of Adam; rich, suave, good-looking playboy son who spends the majority of his time playing polo. What makes him like Adam (in my head) is his go-getter attitude and the fact that he looks like he'd cut throats (perhaps not literally) to get what he wants. And, of course, his spats with Jeff remind me of the jealousy Adam had for Jeff and the time Adam painted Jeff's office with toxic paint. (Good stuff, huh?) Monica, I guess, could remind me of Fallon from the Pamela Sue Martin era. She's headstrong and a woman of the 1980s. She wants to be utilized more in Colby Enterprises, but her father won't use her because "she's a woman". Bliss is the baby of the Colby household. She's the California version of Amanda Carrington; beautiful, but void of any charisma and you just know she's going to be wasted as a character. They try to make her lover boy Sean seem cool, but I have an unction it's all going to fall flat.
THE COLBYS is a good show so far. My wife and I have been watching it together. I'm enjoying it, but she's not; I knew she wasn't going to, however, because soap operas (especially the glitzy ones) aren't her cup-of-tea. She likes KNOTS LANDING pretty good, but I knew this wasn't going to be up her alley.
I'll come back as I get some more episodes in the can.
