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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James from London" data-source="post: 7178" data-attributes="member: 22">24/Nov/82: DYNASTY: The Siblings v. 26/Nov/82: DALLAS: Fringe Benefits v. 26/Nov/82: FALCON CREST: ChoicesWithout being entirely self-contained, all of this week's episodes are quite narrow in focus. For instance, all but two scenes of this week’s DYNASTY are about the Carringtons’ acceptance (or lack thereof) of Adam as a member of the family. Alexis's eagerness and Blake’s reluctance to believe that he is their son makes each of them appear unusually vulnerable. Meanwhile, Fallon’s freaked out reaction to the news that the man she has just kissed passionately is actually her brother is both credible and very funny. (Indeed, this is another DYNASTY episode where all the characters' behaviour seems believable given the bizarre circumstances in which they find themselves. Adam’s Oscar Wilde quotation towards the end of the ep - “I can’t believe anything unless it’s incredible” - kind of sums this up.)Meanwhile, the fight for Ewing Oil informs every scene of this week’s DALLAS. (Lucy and Mickey, the two characters least involved in the contest, are given the week off.) At the centre of the episode is a stand alone story about JR and Cliff each attempting to buy the same refinery from Gil Thurman.FALCON CREST is comparatively broader in its focus, but does include a self-contained guest appearance from Tony Cumson, played this time around by Robert Loggia instead of Rashid Ahmed. Loggia delivers a tougher, edgier version of the character. That aside, the plot is essentially a retread of Tony’s last episode, which was in turn a variation on Gary and Val’s first story on DALLAS: estranged husband, wife and child come close to making a new life together only for the same malevolent family members who drove them apart in the first place to do so again.That isn’t to say the story is a dud. In fact, the repetition works in its favour because it reinforces the idea of the characters (i.e. Julia and Lance) as trapped, doomed to languish at Falcon Crest no matter how many times they try to escape. At least Lance and Tony get to hug out their differences this time, like a macho version of Lucy and Val at the end of “Secrets” (DALLAS, Season 2). And Tony has a great farewell line to his son: “Falcon Crest is a cancer. It contaminates everybody it touches. Get away if you can before it’s too late."The familiar theme of characters attempting or threatening to leave their families recurs again throughout this week’s Soap Land. In addition to Julia’s doomed bid for freedom, ("I’m gonna leave with him this time, Mother, and you can’t stop me!”) Cole Gioberti almost runs away to sea. (And given that he has been charged with murdering the father of the woman whose dying baby he is secretly the daddy of, who can blame him?) On DYNASTY, no sooner does Adam move into his mother’s swish apartment then he tells her he is “thinking of going back home … I have a good life there,” while on DALLAS, Pam suggests to Bobby that they "take Christopher and move away, just leave."These latter two scenes, between Adam and Alexis, and Pam and Bobby, are highlights of their respective episodes. "Why did you stop looking for me [as a baby]?” Adam demands, suddenly turning on his mother. "We tried,” she insists, "we tried so hard ... to find you.” "But you gave up,” he replies. “Why - because somebody said, ‘the kid must be dead so forget it'? Tell me, who was it that gave the final edict to forget it - Blake?” Again, Adam’s hostility is believable - and fascinating. So is Alexis’s decision to defend her ex-husband. "Blake was as shattered and heartbroken as I was,” she tells Adam. "Your loss changed everything between us.” There’s a surprising sweetness about Alexis’s sincerity in this scene.Conversely, Pam, DALLAS’s sweetest and most passive character over the last couple of years, has grown increasingly ballsy this season. And this week, during a conversation with Bobby, she becomes downright rebellious. First, she dares question the judgement of the family patriarch ("Why didn't Jock think of his own wife when he wrote that will?”) before committing blasphemy cursing the family business: “To hell with Ewing Oil!”The week after Gary and Abby move into their "Taj Mahal by the beach”, Alexis takes occupancy of her impressive new penthouse. It’s far more colourful and contemporary looking than her former studio, but still has kind of an artsy vibe about it. Sue Ellen’s townhouse looks suddenly drab in comparison.Said townhouse is the setting for one of two disastrous dinner parties in this week’s Soap Land - one between Sue Ellen, JR and Gil Thurman, the other between Blake, Krystle and Adam. While JR deliberately leaves Sue Ellen and Gil alone for the first part of their evening, hoping Sue Ellen will prove sufficiently disarming to Gil for him to then swoop in and clinch the refinery deal, (“It’s called the old Ewing one-two”) Jeff and Fallon fail to appear for Adam’s welcome dinner at all - their initial dealings with him having proven sufficiently off-putting.Alas, neither Gil nor Adam proves to be the ideal guest. Both make unwelcome references to past characters. "Last I heard was you and Clayton Farlow's kid were off to San Angelo,” slurs Gil in Sue Ellen’s direction. Meanwhile, Adam uses that Oscar Wilde quote to bring up the subject of Steven’s sexuality, just as Jeff did back in the pilot episode - the difference being, Jeff did so inadvertently while Adam knows exactly what he’s doing. “He was gay, wasn’t he?” says Adam of old Oscar as Blake shifts uneasily in his seat. "We don’t have too many of them in Montana.” Blake claims to have little knowledge of the subject. "You should be able to spot them easily,” Adam persists, "what with my brother, Steven.” Sue Ellen and Blake both respond with curt politeness. "That's really none of your business,” Sue Ellen tells Gil. “I’d rather not talk about that now, if you don’t mind,” says Blake through gritted teeth.Adam and Gil both end up leave the party early. Miffed by Sue Ellen rejection his advances, Gil walks out before the steaks are even served, (“Thank-you for the booze, good-night”) while Adam at least makes it through the duck before storming out (“Don’t worry about dessert - I’ll get that at home!”).All three of this week’s episodes end strongly. On DYNASTY, Alexis opens the door of her New York hotel room to reveal a brand new character. “Welcome, my good friend Krystle’s first husband!” she beams. Back in Dallas, JR receives a less welcome visitor in his office. "I just closed a deal for the Thurman refinery right underneath your nose,” gloats Cliff, blissfully unaware that Afton has done with Gil what Sue Ellen refused to do in order to clinch the deal. "Now you're alone,” he continues coldly. "You've got nobody. You've got nothin' but your ocean of oil to drown in." JR chuckles, but once Cliff has gone, his face rearranges itself into a scowl.Meanwhile, in his office at the end of this week’s FALCON CREST, Richard Channing is informed by an angry Tony Cumson that his attempts to manipulate his life have failed: “I don’t know what kind of a game you and Angela are playing, but I don’t like any part of it!” As a parting gesture, Tony upsets Richard’s cherished display of toy soldiers. (As in his former incarnation as Michael Tyrone, Richard has a fondness for vintage toys and artefacts - all the better to offset his cold-hearted villainy.) As Richard tries frantically to reassemble them, Miss Hunter relays the bad news that all charges against Cole for Carlo Agretti’s murder have been dropped. There follows one of those wonderfully abrupt freeze frames that FLAMINGO ROAD and now FALCON CREST seem to specialise in: Richard and the toy soldiers are shot from beneath a glass table as he bangs his fist in anger. “DAMN!” he shouts, his face contorted.And this week’s Soap Land Top 3 are …1 (3) DYNASTY2 (4) FALCON CREST3 (1) DALLAS</blockquote>

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