DYNASTY versus DALLAS versus KNOTS LANDING versus the rest of them

[Zara]

I think the general idea of these prime time soaps is that people like to watch rich/powerful families being sexy and miserable, with the odd moments of sympathy here and there. After all, they're still people.

The Carringtons were always very good at being cursed but at some point they stopped being jinxed (which, indeed, returned in the last season).
The Ewings, however, kept pulling outsiders into their orbit of black gold & misery (which in itself proves that NuDallas was not a failure at all) and that's the reason why "smaller scale" Dallas looked bigger than Dynasty. Ironically.

Yeah. Dallas looked bigger, but Dynasty was way higher up in that sense. They seemed nearly untouchable, and if The Ewings pulled outsiders in to join their misery, The Carringtons rejected every outsider. They made it clear that THEY chose who was allowed in.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The Carringtons rejected every outsider.

And there's nothing wrong with that snobbish attitude, but when the script itself literally rejects every outsider then it also rejects potentially good characters and storylines. And if the Carringtons were untouchable that doesn't mean they should stop affecting the lives of others.
That's what made the first season such great drama: Krystle, Ted Dinard, The Blaisdels (and maybe Jeff, too) - they all had to pay the price for getting involved with the mighty Carringtons.
The last outsider who suffered a similar fate (and I don't mean his death) was Mark Jennings. Cooped up in Alexis' penthouse, miserable and drunk.