Had Jane Not Returned, How Would You Have Ended Falcon Crest?

[Bobby Southworth]

My guess on Carla Gugino vanishing the way she did was probably due to budget constraints for a show that, as TJP pointed out, they then knew was most likely not coming back. The stuff they had mapped out earlier for her character simply no longer being relevant. It's too bad, I know most here aren't fond of the 9th season, but I enjoyed it, and would have liked at least one more season with Gregory Harrison, and hopefully more appearances of Jane Wyman.

 

[WarriorsFan]

The show plummeted so much in the ratings that CBS even considered not to air the remainder of the season after # 223 <9.18> was aired although the whole season had been produced at that time. They stopped airing and were looking for a new day and timeslot for the last four episodes.

So the final four episodes could have been lost episodes.

 

[Richard Denault]

Unfortunately, we have never been able to interview Carla Gugino, and nobody from the staff and crew we are in touch with knows why Carla Gugino's character was written off so hastily.

From the disastrous ratings, it was pretty obvious during the run of the final season that it CBS would not renew it for a 10th season, so the references to a possible 10th season in the original season 9 bible lost any significance while season 9 was on the air. The show plummeted so much in the ratings that CBS even considered not to air the remainder of the season after # 223 <9.18> was aired although the whole season had been produced at that time. They stopped airing and were looking for a new day and timeslot for the last four episodes.

Production documents in our archives do not indicate that there were any plans for Jane to return earlier than for the last three episodes. She came back, and the last three episodes were filmed between January 29 and February 26, 1990, Jane having to be present on a total of nine shooting days within this time frame.

David Selby in one of his books Better Place tells the following anecdote
"A network television president in a conversation with my lawyer made derogatory comments about West Virginians while mocking their mountain accent. He didn't know that my very respected high-powered lawyer is from West Virginia"
Was it the president of CBS?
One member of this forum commented, "Someone at CBS really liked Gregory Harrison. For the better part of two decades, he was in the main cast of several of their primetime series and miniseries: Logan's Run, Trapper John MD, Fresno." , Falcon Crest, The Family Man, New York News, Nothing Lasts Forever
I guess David would be so angry and disappointed in what was happening in the series that it is possible that he tried to contact CBS to see if the mess could be fixed
Then the producers of the ninth season years later bragged about how well they had done.
The audience graph sums it up, a bottomless pit
It is clear that at some point it was decided to close the series in a hurry and considering the gap between the production and exhibition dates, it is possible that it was before the filming of Vigil.
Does the German club have all the scripts for the ninth season?

 

[Monzo]

So the final four episodes could have been lost episodes.

I get why those bad soap ratings forced CBS to try something new on Friday (Whoopi Goldberg's Bagdad Cafe and another sitcom taking over Dallas timeslot & Dallas moving into Falcon Crest's timeslot), but it was sad for the loyal FC fans who missed the last four episodes because they didn't get the news that Falcon Crest was going to be burned off against Cheers.

These are the ratings for the last four episodes in the original timeslot: 9.5-10.2-9.1-8.6.

These are the ratings for the final four episodes against Cheers: 8.1-8.0-9.3-9.3.

In case you're wondering why there's a jump between episodes 20 and 21, Cheers had ended its season and FC only faced Cheers reruns in the last two episodes. Still, I wonder why there was no ratings improvement for the finale. The other CBS soaps had a big jump to the finale compared to the penultimate episode (Dallas from 11.8 to 22.0 and Knots Landing from 11.7 to 13.9), but with Falcon Crest there was nothing. Was there no promotion for the finale or did those viewers who had turned off in previous seasons just not care how Falcon Crest would end?

 

[Richard Denault]

I get why those bad soap ratings forced CBS to try something new on Friday (Whoopi Goldberg's Bagdad Cafe and another sitcom taking over Dallas timeslot & Dallas moving into Falcon Crest's timeslot), but it was sad for the loyal FC fans who missed the last four episodes because they didn't get the news that Falcon Crest was going to be burned off against Cheers.

These are the ratings for the last four episodes in the original timeslot: 9.5-10.2-9.1-8.6.

These are the ratings for the final four episodes against Cheers: 8.1-8.0-9.3-9.3.

In case you're wondering why there's a jump between episodes 20 and 21, Cheers had ended its season and FC only faced Cheers reruns in the last two episodes. Still, I wonder why there was no ratings improvement for the finale. The other CBS soaps had a big jump to the finale compared to the penultimate episode (Dallas from 11.8 to 22.0 and Knots Landing from 11.7 to 13.9), but with Falcon Crest there was nothing. Was there no promotion for the finale or did those viewers who had turned off in previous seasons just not care how Falcon Crest would end?

In the German club there are the production sheets of Lorimar de falcon crest in each episode there are the data of the position in the ratio and millions of viewers and date of broadcast
For the last four episodes these are the data
The first two are position and number of programs- The last two are millions of viewers and % share
919 Crimes of the past 66 91 8.1___13%___04-26
920 The return 70 91 8___13% 05-03
921 Danny's song 61 83 9.3 ___15% 05-10
922 Home again 55 83 9.3___15% 05-17
I wish I had seen Jane's face matching the episode of her return to the end of Cheers made her return the least watched episode of the series
The end for me a very bad Genele and Sharpe two smiling murderers at the wedding. And Richardo married Lauren!!!!!!!!!!! Richard's face with Angela in the final episode reflects very well what many fans and the actors of the series felt.

 

[Bobby Southworth]

One thing I do remember from so many years ago, at the age of 12, was that Falcon Crest was officially cancelled the week that "Vigil" aired. So, it was chopped between the airings of "Walking Money" and "Vigil". I'm not sure where they were at production wise at that point, but clearly Carla Gugino was written out before it was officially cancelled, although the producers probably saw it coming anyway. Perhaps, though, had it not been cancelled, Gugino would have returned? Again, I don't know how far ahead they were with production of episodes, but Vigil aired March 9th(I think), so they had to be several episodes ahead at that point, if not finished?

 

[WarriorsFan]

I get why those bad soap ratings forced CBS to try something new on Friday (Whoopi Goldberg's Bagdad Cafe and another sitcom taking over Dallas timeslot & Dallas moving into Falcon Crest's timeslot)

1989/1990 was when ABC launched their TGIF Friday comedy block with Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Just the Ten of Us. Dallas was head-to-head with Perfect Strangers and Just the Ten of Us and getting beaten by Perfect Strangers in the weekly ratings so maybe that's why CBS decided to put a comedy block on Fridays at 9 pm/9:30 pm.

I wish I had seen Jane's face matching the episode of her return to the end of Cheers made her return the least watched episode of the series

I'd want to see Jane Wyman's reaction to the ratings for October 5, 1984, episode Father's Day. Why I picked that episode? It was the first time Falcon Crest was beaten in the weekly ratings by Murder She Wrote. Two shows on the same network starring actresses from Hollywood's Golden Age. If Twitter had been around in the mid-1980s, we would've seen a senior battle between crime solver Angela Lansbury and villainess Jane Wyman.

One thing I do remember from so many years ago, at the age of 12, was that Falcon Crest was officially cancelled the week that "Vigil" aired. So, it was chopped between the airings of "Walking Money" and "Vigil".

Walking Money was February 23, 1990 and Vigil was March 9, 1990. The last Friday episode was Dark Streets on March 16, 1990, then the five week break before the final four episodes on Thursdays.

 

[TJP]

David Selby in one of his books Better Place tells the following anecdote
"A network television president in a conversation with my lawyer made derogatory comments about West Virginians while mocking their mountain accent. He didn't know that my very respected high-powered lawyer is from West Virginia"
Was it the president of CBS?
[...]
Does the German club have all the scripts for the ninth season?

I don't know if that was a president of CBS (they had various presidents for their departments, not just the one presiding over the whole network).

Yes, we do have all the scripts (many of them in different drafts) from season 9 plus the final season's bible. They are all in our archives and will gradually be made available for viewing in the Chao-Li Chi Memorial Library.

 

[Richard Denault]

Unfortunately, we have never been able to interview Carla Gugino, and nobody from the staff and crew we are in touch with knows why Carla Gugino's character was written off so hastily.

From the disastrous ratings, it was pretty obvious during the run of the final season that it CBS would not renew it for a 10th season, so the references to a possible 10th season in the original season 9 bible lost any significance while season 9 was on the air. The show plummeted so much in the ratings that CBS even considered not to air the remainder of the season after # 223 <9.18> was aired although the whole season had been produced at that time. They stopped airing and were looking for a new day and timeslot for the last four episodes.

Production documents in our archives do not indicate that there were any plans for Jane to return earlier than for the last three episodes. She came back, and the last three episodes were filmed between January 29 and February 26, 1990, Jane having to be present on a total of nine shooting days within this time frame.

This is the capture of the last episode? from the documentation of the German club

www.falconcrest.org | Deutscher FALCON CREST - Fanclub / German FALCON CREST Fan Club

falconcrest.org

Revenge ?
But if everyone was delighted even the murderer Sharpe takes Lauren by the arm. Angela invites Genele over to her house even though Frank is in jail for her.
Lauren doesn't even appear and that her wedding is the end of the series

 

[Arlene Halloran]

As much as killing Angela off might have been a ratings grabber, with plenty of CBS drumming up teasers I still would have preferred her watching from afar. She would get FC back in the end via either Carlton or Peter, like @Angela Channing detailed.

 

[Richard Denault]

As much as killing Angela off might have been a ratings grabber, with plenty of CBS drumming up teasers I still would have preferred her watching from afar. She would get FC back in the end via either Carlton or Peter, like @Angela Channing detailed.

ANGIE
Does he know that his mother (Jaquelinne) was not the woman she appeared to be?
MAGGIE
Then who was she?
ANGIE
An opportunist who only cared about money and power.
MAGGIE
She might have said the same thing about you.

MAGGIE
I didn't mean that. I´m sure that a not what Angela wants
RICHARD
After all that «woman’s done to us. you can still belleve that?

ngela didn't deserve a happy ending, she could have gotten the Falcon Crest back but lost Lance, Emma and Richard.
She should have been an ending like (Written on the Wind)
ALONE but with Falcon Crest
The writers of the final episode had amnesia, the viewers did not