Living in the Cul-de-Sac: Watching Season 10 for the First Time

[JROG]

EPISODE 13: COLONEL MUSTARD IN THE CONSERVATORY WITH THE WRENCH

It’s such a thrilling time for Knots Landing. Gary and Mack attempt to put the pieces of the attempted murder of Val together, in the hopes of finding proof against Jill, although neither one is completely sold. In the process, Frank, Pat, Peggy, and Karen get involved, all of them frantically trying to prove the craziest thing that’s ever happened to someone they know. Allegedly. Meanwhile, Michael likes a girl but she’s more interested in Johnny (Michael's a cutie, but this is not surprising) and Harold spends the episode killing insects in his apartment, all of which has nothing to do with anything, but it’s fun. There are no words for the hilariousness of Gary getting caught breaking and entering Jill's apartment (is this where he realizes how insanely in love he is with Val?), and Jill's ditzy secretary is a hoot (stereotype and all). All of the amateur sleuthing leads to a thrilling last scene, as Mack, Gary, Karen, and Frank locate Miss Forger but she’s dying and certainly can’t speak. Oh, it’s all so soapy! A few feet away, Jill has overheard and, satisfied, walks away in a stunning ending to a tension-filled episode. Paige, Greg and Abby take the week off, but you can’t blame them – I think the last time I was so hooked on the show was during Val's split personality stint!

 

[Matthew Blaisdel]

Meanwhile, Michael likes a girl but she’s more interested in Johnny (Michael's a cutie, but this is not surprising)

To me it is, i'd take Michael over ANY guy of the whole show at that time. And i loved the mexican stuff because of his many shirtless scenes and wished they would have been trapped in that truck for a few more days so that he gets even more sweaty and all.

 

[JROG]

EPISODE 14: WITHOUT A CLUE

It’s such torturous fun to watch Jill eradicate proof just before anyone gets to it – she’s always one step ahead of Gary or Mack or Frank, and they don’t even know how close they’ve been getting! Her psychosis taking over more each day, Jill decides the bestest way to Gary's heart is by cutting off his saddle and therefore breaking his neck and taking care of his paraplegic ass forever? Or something like that. Meanwhile, things take a shocking turn when Abby and Ted convince Greg to ask for Meg back, basically because he can’t possibly win the election otherwise. A fun and interesting story (Greg's run for Mayor) that suddenly acquires real consequences for the other people on the show. When Mack tells Greg he’ll get Meg back over his dead body, Greg gets drunk and walks around the streets, which is so Knots Landing and so Greg!

 

[Stillwitty]

EPISODE 1: SUICIDAL

The episode picks up perfectly from season 9’s finale, as the heightened life in the cul-de-sac goes on and nobody realizes Val is on the floor, unconscious. Karen and Mack argue about how to handle the situation with Manny, Pat nags Frank to get a job, Bobby and Betsy innocently play around. It is 16 tense minutes before Frank realizes something is wrong and discovers Val.

Fucking Santa Tecla is back! But then again it would, wouldn’t it? Mack puts on his best hat and cowboy boots and goes looking for Michael and Paige in a montagey kinda way, which Manny calls suicidal. First Olivia, then Val, now Mack? Boy, this show is dangerous! I love that Mack calls both of them his children.

It was funny Harold and Mack didn’t know each other for the longest time; that seems like it would have never happened in earlier seasons.

Mack gets captured and plays an interesting game of trying to provoke Harold and bring him on his side. Meanwhile, back home, Abby and Karen continue to lean on each other as they await news and, hilariously, Karen talks to an Explosives Expert so she can blow up the marina anytime she wants. Did she talk to Gary about this? I hear blowing up stuff like that can lead to some dangerous things….

I loved the small moment of Meg picking up Mack's gun and the horrified looks on their faces. Greg is saddled with taking care of his child and decides to hire a publicist, certainly for something nefarious or another.

Jill learns that Val's alive and goes all apocalyptic on her phone device before puking her guts out. It eventually dawns on her, while she contemplates a second murder attempt, that nobody will believe Val's story. The scene has unnecessary voiceover, considering Jill's entire thought process was pretty obvious. There’s some comical shit with a psychiatric ward patient next to Val. Last time they had a random comic character around, he stole Lilimae away. Who is this patient getting it on with? Surely not Gary!

When Manny orders Chava and Mack killed, Harold intervenes and does the killing himself. Thank God Manny died!! Although he was an interesting actor and villain, we can wrap this whole thing up now! "WWWWHHEEEEREEE ARE MY CHILDREN?" Mack unnecessarily screams, but then again, most of the times he screams, it’s unnecessary.

We’re off to a very good start!

Not unnecessary: It gets Karen hot enough to forget her headaches and distractions so she can concentrate...

You're right. There wasn't enough barfing going on. They all should have barfed at least once.

Especially in Season 13, upon reading their upcoming scripts...

EPISODE 4: THE PICK-UP GAME

What a brilliant episode. The news about the drugs on Lotus Point getting splashed all over the papers leads to Mack's job being threatened and to some truly brilliant scenes as Mack immediately shuts down, leaves the office and spends his day playing basketball and contemplating the fact that he’s growing older. The scene with Paige is a particular highlight, a great example of their relationship and of KL’s ability to present seemingly trivial moments of everyday life that are all but simple under the surface. Mack, of course, still has time to question Abby's current situation as he, once again, wonders what she is up to. It’s a truly surprising, fascinating story for Abby, who Karen believes is trying to make up for Olivia's suicide attempt. Is that the answer? I suppose we’ll find out!

The Lotus Point situation also hits Gary strong, who buys all the papers on the resort and throws them away. Karen and Abby try to calm him. "Aren’t you the one who buried a body under the playground?" he snaps at Abby. I approve of this reference. Hilariously, Karen, never one to take abuse lying down, reminds Gary that he was the one who threw it all to hell last year and decided he wasn’t interested in Lotus Point anymore.

Finally, someone believes Val! And how awesome is it that it’s Frank who starts trying to prove Val's innocence. The residents of Knots Landing are too smart to keep believing for long that an otherwise sane Val could have imagined it all the way they have thought so far, so even Gary and Karen begin to have doubts. Jill calls Val to ask if Gary is there, freaking an already terrified Val out, and something tells me that Jill may be slowly making mistakes… While hanging out in her kitchen, Karen warns Val that, if she keeps closing herself off like this, then Jill has won. To add to the details of the scene, Karen does all this while reading the label of one of Val's new grocery items, adding so much realism and texture to the soapy story.

Meanwhile, the Mysterious Car Man turns out to be there for Pat and Frank! Oh, no! The episode is so good that even Julie having to throw her spelling bee competition was sad!

After building in the background for what feels like an eternity, there’s movement in Paige and Greg's story. Paige shoves her hands down Greg's pants (for a totally innocent reason!) and then decides to hunker down and figure out how to get to him. This brilliantly intersects with Mack's ‘mood’ of the episode, who tells her how to get to Greg. Never one to waste time, Paige promptly strips her clothes off and swims in Greg's pool before emerging like a Californian Aphrodite all naked and wet right in front of Pops, who seems like he’s about to take a bite off that apple.

DDD

Similar move her Mom made on Mack all those years ago...