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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brian Carrington Colby" data-source="post: 150902" data-attributes="member: 136">Well, I didn't think it would happen, but this episode actually felt like I was watching a night-time drama, not the poorly written sitcom that we have pretty much gotten since last season's finale.POSSIBLE SPOILERS behind the Spoiler button!!![Spoiler] In my view this episode was much more tightly written, flowed better, and gave the viewer some genuine twists, especially the final scenes. Except for the Sam/Kirby/Anders silliness (though even it had a touching resolution), the characters felt more like human beings than the one dimensional cut-outs they have all been for most of this season.Getting the characters back into a business setting actually opens the show up and I feel gives Fallon and Blake more focus. I have no clue what this business is called, beyond the whole sports team, but watching Blake and Fallon and Michael wheel and deal was fun. Using their imposed business relationship as a mirror of their shattered personal relationship worked well for the Fallon and Michael storyline. And I liked that it did not end all pretty wrapped up in a bow. Fallon's realization about herself at the end was a building block heading towards the final scenes, which was a nice touch.This is the first episode where Cristal sort of felt like part of the show. For me, her introduction and integration into the Carrington Family was sooooo poorly handled and just badly written. The problem with the show is that it is moving too fast through storylines. Nothing gets to breath before we are onto the next plot-point the writers want to blow through. In my opinion Cristal was moved into the mansion way too fast, she was "in love" with Blake, and he with her, with the snap of the writer's fingers, without any real meaty scenes of the two getting to know one another. The other problem with new Cristal's integration into the show is that the last five months have pretty much been the "Fallon, with her sidekick Sam" show. We haven't gotten enough screen time exploring the Cristal character to make her work.Tonight though, finally, Cristal got scenes that opened the character up. We even learn a bit about her past with Mark, why their marriage went wrong, and that her family had everything to do with it. Interesting, Cristal has a double-dealing family out there. Also, Her scenes with Mark were great. I'll be honest, the actor they hired for Mark was perfect: Damon Dayoub can act, is sexy as all Hell, and he better not be just another one episode write-off like Toscani was. Unfortunately, keeping true to their past efforts, the writers probably wrote Mark out without any thought to future storylines (you will see what I mean by the end of the episode).  The introduction of Mark also gave more screen time to Blake, which was great because he is another character that has suffered since the end of last season with lack of credible screen time/character development.Now, Alexis. A character that should be the powerhouse of the show. Unfortunately the writers have made an iconic dramatic character into a comedic buffoon, especially this season. Tonight, finally, the character may of had an epiphany, though where she goes from here is anyones guess. Hopefully after tonight, Alexis will leave the mansion and gain true power on her own. The original show rightly knew that after that first season, keeping Alexis so closely tied to and living in the the mansion would eventually make the character one note. Having Alexis marry Cecil Colby and gaining his wealth moved the character forward somewhat. The same needs to happen with Alexis in the new show. This episode could be a turning point for the character. Here is hoping the writers actually have a plan and a decent storyline to move this character forward.The Sam/Kirby/Anders sub-plot was pretty much pointless and was another example of the usual sitcom pablum the show has been pretty much this whole season. I guess Sam and Kirby are supposed to be the comedy relief of the show? Unfortunately the comedy is too obvious and not cleverly written. With the original Sammy Jo humour came forth due to her character flaws and her gold-digging ways to fit in with the sophisticated Carringtons. Sam and Kirby have become Lucy and Ethel stuffing chocolates in their mouths and down their bras because the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory is moving too fast in this weeks sitcom plot. Sam has turned into a benign goody-goody nice guy pining after his missing husband. The one time this season where Sam was kissing that guy and I thought, okay, Sam is going to have an affair!! But no, thanks writers, Fallon walks in right away and that ended that. Back to that conveyor belt and get back to stuffing chocolates down your pants for laughs Sam!!!And after five months it seems as though the writers have completely given up on giving Kirby any sort of character of her own, beyond being Fallon's unwanted stowaway or Sam's partner in crime. But it really goes back to one of my first points. With the show so heavily focused on Fallon, the other characters in the cast are suffering and not being given storylines with any weight to actually develop their characters beyond the obvious. And it is hurting the overall show because if Fallon's storyline is weak in a given episode, there is nothing else to carry the show.The final scenes of tonights episode are possibly a turning point for the show. What I enjoyed was that almost every scene led us to tonight's cliffhanger. I give the show credit because they took an iconic Dynasty scene and put a few twists on it that actually surprised me!! The aftermath will affect Blake, Cristal, Alexis, and Mark. My fingers are crossed that from this point forward we get the exciting night-time drama this show should be..... [/Spoiler]</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?