Did the cast like Nicollette Sheridan?

[DeviousPeep]

I've been a fan of Nicollette Sheridan since she played Edie in Desperate Housewives, and I thoroughly enjoyed her as Alexis in the Dynasty reboot (poor writing aside), but it seems like she can never maintain relationships with her cast mates. On Housewives it seemed like she was close to them in the earlier years (except maybe Teri Hatcher), but they then took Marc Cherry's side after she filed a lawsuit against him. Then on Dynasty she only seemed to be friends with Ana Brenda Contreras. Since leaving the show, she's unfollowed all of the cast on Instagram except Ana, and only a few cast members still follow her (Liz Gillies not being one of them). I've never seen Knots Landing and wasn't alive when it was on the air, but does anyone here happen to know (or know rumors of) what Nicollette's behind the scenes experience was like on that show? Does anyone know if she got along with the cast and producers? She did post a throwback post to Instagram about Knots indicating she had a good time, but then she didn't want to be apart of the reunion specials once the show was over. I'm just interested in hearing if anyone's got more information.

 

[TJames03]

Keep quiet, Travis......just keep quiet........you can do it.......

 

[thomaswak]

I've been a fan of Nicollette Sheridan since she played Edie in Desperate Housewives, and I thoroughly enjoyed her as Alexis in the Dynasty reboot (poor writing aside), but it seems like she can never maintain relationships with her cast mates. On Housewives it seemed like she was close to them in the earlier years (except maybe Teri Hatcher), but they then took Marc Cherry's side after she filed a lawsuit against him. Then on Dynasty she only seemed to be friends with Ana Brenda Contreras. Since leaving the show, she's unfollowed all of the cast on Instagram except Ana, and only a few cast members still follow her (Liz Gillies not being one of them). I've never seen Knots Landing and wasn't alive when it was on the air, but does anyone here happen to know (or know rumors of) what Nicollette's behind the scenes experience was like on that show? Does anyone know if she got along with the cast and producers? She did post a throwback post to Instagram about Knots indicating she had a good time, but then she didn't want to be apart of the reunion specials once the show was over. I'm just interested in hearing if anyone's got more information.

All I can say is :

if you want to make Candyman appear, say his name 5 times.
If you want to make @TJames03 appear, say "Nicollette Sheridan" only once.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Every infant emerges from the womb disliking Nicollette Sheridan.

 

[micmic]

I think Michele lee said not the greatest things about her in a TV guide interview
Kevin Dobson mentioned he liked her, and knew her when she was a kid
I can totally see why Michele, Donna and Joan would not like her being the hot new thing on the show but they sort of never mention her good or bad.

I believe she didn’t want to do the reunion because at the time she did a movie with Leslie Nielsen and she thought she would be a movie star so probably did not want to revert to soap opera. Unfortunately for her she was wrong and mega reverted into soap later on

 

[Daniel Avery]

The situation with her on KL was radically different than the situations in the other shows. Knots Landing was an established show with many of its original cast members still holding court. She was the new hire--not even principal cast--and the leading ladies of KL likely did not see her as a threat to their own places in the show. I'm sure they felt a bit slighted as Latham and Lechowick kept beefing up her character and promoted her to main cast, as anyone in a work situation would feel when the bosses seem to be paying more attention to the new(er) employee than the veteran employees already on staff. But most people who've been around the soap business knows that this sort of behavior is a necessary evil. Soaps have to bring in new characters or the show gets stale, and since the main cast were all basically the same age, they needed someone younger who could carry storylines in order to appeal to different demos. It was also not guaranteed that all the "old guard" would be around forever; they were expensive and budgets were being reduced. So it was important for L&L to begin planning for the future even as the veterans still carried the bulk of stories.

So NS would likely have felt a degree of intimidation as the young ingenue with the thin resume being hired onto this ratings powerhouse series. It took several years for her to work her way into having the same level of attention as the veterans stars, but her attention was more for her youth and appearance than her acting chops (at least in my estimation). If that created jealousy or acrimony with the older actresses, there was not a lot written about it at the time. It wasn't until she had gained some notoriety and confidence that she could have become more of a "handful," so to speak, and once you're sought out for roles (rather than having to audition), your self-confidence would certainly get a boost.

I recall the TV Guide cover story in May, 1993 that tried to paint the situation as "older actresses threatened by younger newcomer" but I think the author of that story was seeing more than was actually there (trying to drum up controversy). This was I believe the famous "mirrors down, ladies" article I can't find right now.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I can totally see why Michele, Donna and Joan would not like her being the hot new thing on the show but they sort of never mention her good or bad.

So you think they (allegedly) didn't like her because of female jealousy??

 

[Willie Oleson]

Since leaving the show, she's unfollowed all of the cast on Instagram except Ana

What a very Alexis thing to do!

 

[TJames03]

(Travis’ right eye twitching and face turning red.....)

 

[Daniel Avery]

I'm so proud of you!

 

[Alexis]

So you think they (allegedly) didn't like her because of female jealousy??

The likely started to not like her when she started getting more pages in the script than them and lots of scenes with Bill Devane and shit. They likely didn't really care about her until then. They were aging actresses, there had to be some sort of neurosis there. I mean Joan Van Ark had Lucy banished from Knots Landing, Diana was banished from Karen's life and she played house with Laura's kid instead. These were middle aged women with babies... adult daughters be gone! Lucy and Diana were both sterilized at the same clinic to save any awkward granny scenes. Allegedly.

 

[Brian Kinney]

Even though Nicolette Sheridan had scenes with Michele Lee and Donna Mills the storylines I remember her most for are those with William Devane, Michelle Phillips and Joseph Gian or Kevin Dobson. I'm certain she had more interacting with Bob and Mort than with Joan Van Ark. In the latter years of KL Paige and her mother were my favorite characters. She wasn't a total unknown: she had a little part in the summer hit movie The Sure Thing which I had seen and was in the short-lived Paper Dolls series in 1985-86 before KL in 1986.

There are some actors who just don't do reunions. For them a work is done when wrapped. I'm getting invited every five years to anniversaries of an old work place of mine. Even though it's a big event with music acts I always decline. So I understand that and don't assume anything worse about Sheridan's decision. What I get by Sheridan's interviews is that she seems to be rather distant and careful or almost shy.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Yes, and when NS/Paige first arrived, they seemed determined to place her with the younger set (Michael, Eric, Olivia) even though she seemed so much older and more worldly than any of them. It was as if they were determined to drag those characters into adulthood whether the viewers wanted it or not, and she was tasked with the heavy lifting. Once they realized she was not going to mesh well with the relatively boring goody-goodies, she ended up with first Peter, then Greg...and the 'kids her age' never really did amount to anything.

 

[Toni]

The more I rewatch episodes of the latter seasons, the less I understand the appeal of Paige and Greg´s on/off affair. Or why they HAD TO be together at the end. No clue. Zero. She could have been his granddaughter (Ava Gardner´s grand-granddaughter!) and the Greggie could sleep with any woman he wanted. Even those he didn´t really wanted (Paula and Anne on my mind...). I guess that´s what means being the powerhouse that the Devane was!!

"Yo!"
(I´m sure that Kevin Dobson envied that hair...)​

 

[Jimmy Todd]

The more I rewatch episodes of the latter seasons, the less I understand the appeal of Paige and Greg´s on/off affair. Or why they HAD TO be together at the end. No clue. Zero. She could have been his granddaughter (Ava Gardner´s grand-granddaughter!) and the Greggie could sleep with any woman he wanted. Even those he didn´t really wanted (Paula and Anne on my mind...). I guess that´s what means being the powerhouse that the Devane was!!

View attachment 19331

"Yo!"
(I´m sure that Kevin Dobson envied that hair...)​

I always thought Paige's attraction to Greg had something to do with her lack of a father figure in her life.
I liked their on again-off again relationship(although I still would have traded it for Greg and Laura) The actors had good chemistry, imho, and they made it believable, unnlike JR and Cally over in Texas. That was just...icky.
It also gave us one of what I consider Ms. Sheridan's best moments. Anne tells Paige she's marrying Greg, and tough for Paige because "she dropped the ball."(Anne is such a great character!). Paige is all sarcasm and insouciance, but then when she is home alone, she bursts into tears. I thought NS really portrayed her hurt very well.

 

[James from London]

I thought Paige was a fantastically versatile character: she could and did switch from Nancy Drew detective to haughty heiress to plucky working girl to fantasy sex symbol to soapy schemer to believably "Knotsian" character (i.e., someone who could sit down at the Mackenzie kitchen table in curlers) almost constantly. That it all looked so effortless is in large part due to Sheridan's acting abilities. 'Underrated' is such an overused word but I think in this case it applies.

 

[Alexis]

I thought Paige was a fantastically versatile character: she could and did switch from Nancy Drew detective to haughty heiress to plucky working girl to fantasy sex symbol to soapy schemer to believably "Knotsian" character (i.e., someone who could sit down at the Mackenzie kitchen table in curlers) almost constantly. That it all looked so effortless is in large part due to Sheridan's acting abilities. 'Underrated' is such an overused word but I think in this case it applies.

She was a fantastic character who livened up the later years, and yet fit in well with the original cast. I loved Paige and Greg's dynamic. There was so much going on there that wasn't actually said on screen. Sheridan and Devane had great chemistry and their acting just added layers and layers on top of what was written.

 

[Seaviewer]

Allegedly.

A very important word.

 

[Toni]

"Knots Landing" always was about a cul-de-sac and a number of couples going through life. Paige only sponged out the Mackenzies and Greg never lived in the cul-de-sac. And they factually weren´t even a couple (only in the missing years between the last episode and the miniseries).

We fans are a bit too benevolent with this show of ours. We can beech endlessly about the latter years of "Dallas", "FC" and "Dynasty", but it seems almost a sin to say anything about the last half of KL. And those were crappy years too, and Paige and Greg were used to try to win the rivals in the last half of the 80s.

But along the way, a lot of things were compromised and the writers and producers dignity was threatened. Quite often, by the way. Sumner Group was born to beat "L.A. Law", not organically. Claudia was brought because since Donna Mills left, audiences were watching it half-asleep. And so on...Oh and by the way (again)...

 

[Toni]

Oh and I forgot to say that I don´t think that anyone disliked Nicollette. Just a feeling of course, but with Earth, Wind & Fire around, she wouldn´t have lasted a minute if she had been anything negative...The real question could be: Did the cast like Felicity Waterman...?