S04E07 The Birthday Party

[Tony]

This all sounds a bit clever for new Dynasty however I like the premise.

It's actually a steal from series like Revenge and shows lack of imagination for dramatic arcs.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I think Alan Dale also deserves to be freed. He's really tried to make something of it but Fallon Unlimited & Co are having none of it.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Similarly, General Hospital had a Sweeps stunt recently where they teased viewers with a "flash-forward"--only the scene we got to see was the despised Peter August character lying dead at the foot of some stairs. So in this case we knew who was dead, just not who was responsible. Every episode started with "Six hours earlier..." or "Four Hours earlier..." until the episode aired where we saw Dr. Finn push Peter down the stairs in a fight.

The parade and fireworks display in Dr. Finn's honor will be held as soon as possible. There's talk of giving him the Key To The City.

 

[tommie]

It's actually a steal from series like Revenge and shows lack of imagination for dramatic arcs.

To be fair, it's not like Revenge / How To Get Away With Murder invented this type of storytelling - maybe they mainstreamed it to broadcast television but in itself it's nothing new. I don't mind it, though I think at this point we should've had more than two flashforwards since someone will die in episode 13.

 

[Grant Jennings]

To be fair, it's not like Revenge / How To Get Away With Murder invented this type of storytelling - maybe they mainstreamed it to broadcast television but in itself it's nothing new. I don't mind it, though I think at this point we should've had more than two flashforwards since someone will die in episode 13.

I'm reminded of the coffin at the end of season 2 of Falcon Crest clues and foreshadowing like this go back to the days of serialized movie shorts, probably even to the days of serialized stories published in newspapers in magazines.

I think it's clever of the writers to do this. The pandemic prevented them from filming a season-ending cliffhanger last year that would keep us guessing about something all Summer long so they created this instead as a way to keep us guessing while the show is still airing.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I don't mind it, though I think at this point we should've had more than two flashforwards since someone will die in episode 13.

There are only so many characters to reveal, I guess. But they could in theory have another character revealed in each episode(five more characters) leading up to Episode 12, when the actual death will likely take place in the closing scene. If they ruled out ALL the other characters before the beginning of episode 12, there would be no suspense during the hour.

I'm curious as to whether the flash-forward scenes were filmed at the beginning of the season (letting all the actors and majority of the crew know who was going to live and who...wasn't) or if they've been staging them as they progressed in filming to keep more people in the dark. One way to tell, of course, will be whether Daniela Alonso is back to her regular figure or hiding behind a giant flower arrangement in the funeral flash-forward. If she IS in the flashforward.....[/dum dum DUUUUUUMMMM]

 

[tommie]

I'm curious as to whether the flash-forward scenes were filmed at the beginning of the season (letting all the actors and majority of the crew know who was going to live and who...wasn't) or if they've been staging them as they progressed in filming to keep more people in the dark. One way to tell, of course, will be whether Daniela Alonso is back to her regular figure or hiding behind a giant flower arrangement in the funeral flash-forward. If she IS in the flashforward.....[/dum dum DUUUUUUMMMM]

Since they've been filming so far ahead they could always have filmed it later and cut it into the show.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I can see it now:
All the principal cast members show up in their best black outfits. While they puzzle over why they were asked to wear black, the casket is wheeled in and the producer arrives with a stack of scripts. He hands out the scripts to all but one actor. "Hey, you missed me..." the actor says. "Actually," the producer says, "Your part of the scene won't require dialogue. But we will indeed miss you." He then opens the casket and a crew member pulls up a short ladder. "Awww....damn!" the actor says as the others heave a sigh of relief.