Season 9 rewatch

[Monzo]

I'm about halfway through my rewatch of season 9 and I think Falcon Crest got even worse after Emma left. She was always the mediator, trying to keep the family together and that's why I miss her so much.

I realize how much I had forgotten. It wasn't until I first saw Walker that I remembered Lauren had a husband and it wasn't until the hostage situation that I realized Walker was going to die. Up until then, Lauren and Walker gave me a vibe of Knots Landing. I could imagine them desperately trying to save their marriage after their children died and becoming foster parents because of it. While in Knots Landing they would have realized their marriage was over and gone their separate ways, in Falcon Crest Walker had to strap a bomb to himself to kill himself, Lauren and his enemies.

I had also forgotten how horrific Pilar's affair with the Yugoslavian chess master was.

I actually think Frank's story is the worst. So Genele was a teenager when she took a liking to Frank, who was at the peak of his professional tennis career at the time. How old is Frank supposed to be in season 9, only in his early 50s? I also don't like that he seems to know the character and business manners of everyone in Tuscany Valley, even people who are only in their 30s and 40s, even though Frank hasn't been in town for many years.

I've read from time to time that season 9 reminds some people of Twin Peaks. Not me, actually. Only Genele reminds me a little of Brenda Strong's character in Twin Peaks. However, I see the short-lived series Profit in season 9. Just as the evil main character Jim Profit always had to win against some nice people, Michael and Genele in Falcon Crest always have to win against the people I, as a viewer, like better.

 

[Monzo]

If I understood correctly, Jane Wyman was in the opening credits for the entire season 9 because she was paid for every episode. What was the situation with Chao-Li Chi? Before he dropped from the opening credits, was he paid for those episodes in which he didn't appear in and was he therefore still in the opening credits?

Was Sydney rewritten as a character or was Angela actually supposed to rediscover her younger self in her, exactly as she was on screen? Did Angela also constantly fall in love again as an 18-year-old and quickly get over the fact that the love of her life was murdered just because of her? Did she soon find a replacement in the son of one of the family's arch-enemies and love him to bits? I hope Angela was smarter than Sydney as a young woman. Of all the young women who appeared throughout the show's run, I would have expected Angela to identify most with Melissa, maybe even Terry or Cassandra, but not Sydney. But since Angela had a soft spot for Carly, maybe it makes sense with Sydney after all.

For those who watched season 9 dubbed in German: Do you think season 9 was treated carelessly? In some episodes the original title and the also starring credits appear, in other episodes the German title is there, but no further credits. What I find worse, however, was that there is no uniformity in the use of Sie and Du. Richard and Michael were per du, as were Michael and Walker, but when Walker took them hostage, the men suddenly were all per Sie, while Walker said du to Genele, whom he had only just met.

 

[TJP]

If I understood correctly, Jane Wyman was in the opening credits for the entire season 9 because she was paid for every episode. What was the situation with Chao-Li Chi? Before he dropped from the opening credits, was he paid for those episodes in which he didn't appear in and was he therefore still in the opening credits?

Yes, because Jane had an AEP guarantee in her contract for season 9 ("all episodes produced"). Chao-Li only had a guarantee for a certain percentage of episodes, so that explains his temporary removal from the main title; he was not paid for these episodes. We don't have his season 9 contract in our archives, so I can't tell the exact fraction of guarantee for season 9. In season 8, he had a 12/22 guarantee, so it's pretty likely season 9 had at least that minimum guarantee for him as well.

Was Sydney rewritten as a character or was Angela actually supposed to rediscover her younger self in her, exactly as she was on screen? Did Angela also constantly fall in love again as an 18-year-old and quickly get over the fact that the love of her life was murdered just because of her? Did she soon find a replacement in the son of one of the family's arch-enemies and love him to bits? I hope Angela was smarter than Sydney as a young woman. Of all the young women who appeared throughout the show's run, I would have expected Angela to identify most with Melissa, maybe even Terry or Cassandra, but not Sydney. But since Angela had a soft spot for Carly, maybe it makes sense with Sydney after all.

We addressed a few aspects of this idea for Sydney in two episodes in our Behind the Scenes section:
- https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/9/211
- https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/9/227
A lot ore details about the development of Sydney are shared in "The Secret FALCON FILES - Vol. 3" (https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/secrets), which is an in-depth evaluation of the development of season 9 based on the writers' bible.
I think the new writers did not understand the character of Angela and her relation to Melissa. Angela's seeing her younger self in Sydney is just so out of character and does not make any sense.

For those who watched season 9 dubbed in German: Do you think season 9 was treated carelessly? In some episodes the original title and the also starring credits appear, in other episodes the German title is there, but no further credits. What I find worse, however, was that there is no uniformity in the use of Sie and Du. Richard and Michael were per du, as were Michael and Walker, but when Walker took them hostage, the men suddenly were all per Sie, while Walker said du to Genele, whom he had only just met.

The German dubbing was never really consistent as far as "du" and "Sie" are concerned. it's not a specific season 9 problem. It's careless translating, which most shows suffer from. Speaking of ridiculous dubbing — there is one particularly hilarious moment in early season 7 when Angie arrives on Travis' driveway (her rented limo chauffeured by a hired driver played by an extra since Chao-Li is still in the hospital), and she says to Richard, "Shall we?!" Guess which words the German translators put in Angie's mouth: "Chao-Li!" How embarrassing is that?! it's a symptom for the quality of the translation. Since I recorded the show in English when it was aired on Soap Net 25 years ago, I've never watched a German episode again since I hate the stupid dubbing so much.

 

[Toni]

Yes, because Jane had an AEP guarantee in her contract for season 9 ("all episodes produced"). Chao-Li only had a guarantee for a certain percentage of episodes, so that explains his temporary removal from the main title; he was not paid for these episodes. We don't have his season 9 contract in our archives, so I can't tell the exact fraction of guarantee for season 9. In season 8, he had a 12/22 guarantee, so it's pretty likely season 9 had at least that minimum guarantee for him as well.



We addressed a few aspects of this idea for Sydney in two episodes in our Behind the Scenes section:
- https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/9/211
- https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/9/227
A lot ore details about the development of Sydney are shared in "The Secret FALCON FILES - Vol. 3" (https://www.falconcrest.org/english/master.php?path=show/episodes/ai/bts/secrets), which is an in-depth evaluation of the development of season 9 based on the writers' bible.
I think the new writers did not understand the character of Angela and her relation to Melissa. Angela's seeing her younger self in Sydney is just so out of character and does not make any sense.



The German dubbing was never really consistent as far as "du" and "Sie" are concerned. it's not a specific season 9 problem. It's careless translating, which most shows suffer from. Speaking of ridiculous dubbing — there is one particularly hilarious moment in early season 7 when Angie arrives on Travis' driveway (her rented limo chauffeured by a hired driver played by an extra since Chao-Li is still in the hospital), and she says to Richard, "Shall we?!" Guess which words the German translators put in Angie's mouth: "Chao-Li!" How embarrassing is that?! it's a symptom for the quality of the translation. Since I recorded the show in English when it was aired on Soap Net 25 years ago, I've never watched a German episode again since I hate the stupid dubbing so much.

This reminds me the nonsense change of voices of the whole cast (except Melissa and Eric) from Season 7 on, just because the network wanted to save money and, when the dubbing studio agreed to that (after a bid with other studios), the actors refused to return (they´d be paid less money) and the other two were kind of discriminated afterwords (especially Melissa´s splendid actress). Put this in the context that "Falcon Crest" was one of the most-watched American shows in the decade, despite being scheduled after the news broadcast at 15´30. They did deserve to be paid more, not less.

I remember this was one of the few times back then that I realized that average audience also took notice of the dubbing work, with this kind of lame action. To make things worse, they didn´t hire substitutes with similar voices to the original Spanish cast, they just looked for people who sounded like them in English. That was a good intention, but it was highly unsuccessful.

All the initial Spanish voices were perfect for their respective actors, only Richard´s had been replaced once. Now Angela´s voice was more like the original (the only change I can understand), but Maggie´s was very screeching... and the rest sounded somewhat flat, strange... Throughout the running of the show, these were the characters that had more than once voice:
Angela (2), Richard (4!), Vickie (2), Peter (2), Maggie (2), Emma (2), Eric (2), Dan (2), Erin Jones (2) and Chao-Li (2).

 

[Monzo]

I've now finished season 9 and am glad I saw it again, but everything was better in my memory, especially the finale. Of course Angela's final thoughts were great, but the rest not so much. In the final three episodes in which Angela was back, there was far too much focus on the Sharpes, so I wonder if Jane Wyman only returned for a certain number of scenes and that's why we saw very little of her. I always assumed (because I had forgotten about it) that Charley forged Angela's will, but Angela actually left Falcon Crest to Emma, hard to believe!

I also had forgotten that Pilar was pregnant and how she hung out with Sheryl Lee Ralph in the ghetto. Lance had shockingly little to do in season 9. Is it actually true that Lorenzo Lamas would have left if there had been season 10?

When was it officially announced that Falcon Crest was ending? And when did production know about it? I feel like after Danny's car accident there was a change of direction, as if they were now preparing for the series finale and no longer a season finale.

 

[TJP]

I've now finished season 9 and am glad I saw it again, but everything was better in my memory, especially the finale. Of course Angela's final thoughts were great, but the rest not so much. In the final three episodes in which Angela was back, there was far too much focus on the Sharpes, so I wonder if Jane Wyman only returned for a certain number of scenes and that's why we saw very little of her. I always assumed (because I had forgotten about it) that Charley forged Angela's will, but Angela actually left Falcon Crest to Emma, hard to believe!

From where did you get the impression that Charley forged Angela's will?
I think it was rather implied that he probably secretly looked into it, but not that he actually forged it, particularly since Angela confirmed to Lance in the final episode that "it was a mistake" to leave Falcon Crest to Emma (which implies she actually wrote it that way).

I also had forgotten that Pilar was pregnant and how she hung out with Sheryl Lee Ralph in the ghetto. Lance had shockingly little to do in season 9. Is it actually true that Lorenzo Lamas would have left if there had been season 10?

That was never really the question because very early in season 9 everyone felt that it was going downhill and CBS would not renew the show. I never heard any rumors that Lorenzo said he'd leave; neither did Lorenzo ever mention anything like that to me.

David, however, stated very early in season 9 that, even if the show continued, it would be time for him to move on. He was extremely annoyed with the direction the show took that season and the unwillingness (and probably also inability) of the writers to be consistent with the characters' backstories. Although David is a really good soul, he was so furious that he even refused to play certain trashy scenes, forcing the writers to change them.

When was it officially announced that Falcon Crest was ending? And when did production know about it? I feel like after Danny's car accident there was a change of direction, as if they were now preparing for the series finale and no longer a season finale.

The change of direction after Danny's "accident" was necessitated by the untimely leaving of Carla Gugino. We've never heard from Ms. Gugino herself why she wanted out, but her abrupt exit was something the writers had not foreseen since they actually planned for her in the seasonal bible to remain in the cast until the season's finale — and beyond. The season 9 writers imagined she would become the next Angela in season 10 if CBS renewed the show.

Almost all of the core cast members I spoke to said they knew it was going to be the last season from pretty early on.
Although we have lots of inter-office communication between Lorimar and CBS in our archives, we don't have any paperwork that gives away the exact date when CBS pulled the plug. The script for the final episode was finalized Feb 13, 1990, and shooting # 227 <9.22> took place between Feb 15 and 26, 1990, so the writers must have definitely known by then. My guess is they already knew before the Christmas hiatus, but I cannot verify this theory at this time.

 

[Jock Og]

David, however, stated very early in season 9 that, even if the show continued, it would be time for him to move on. He was extremely annoyed with the direction the show took that season and the unwillingness (and probably also inability) of the writers to be consistent with the characters' backstories. Although David is a really good soul, he was so furious that he even refused to play certain trashy scenes, forcing the writers to change them.

Fair play to David for standing up, to the new team. When Richard wanted Lauren to dress like Maggie the warning signs intensified. This scenario would likely have been amplified had they not listened to a stalwart 'FALCON CRESTEE i.e. even bluer happenings. The writing was well and truly on the wall.

Well now, Richard and the new Mrs. Channing to be.


Maggie's wake is taking place, in the Falcon Crest mansion. Angela is standing with Chao-Li in the foyer; (a scene from season 9, 1989 - '90):

Angela: "Richard wait! It is amazing how death can shake even the firmest resolve. Richard come here."

Mother and son hug.

Richard: "What am I going to do?"

Angela: "You're gonna survive!"

 

[aframe2]

The utmost respect to Wendy Phillips but she hadn't the charisma of Susan Sullivan. Danny's mother should have joined earlier. Much too late in joining to have any impact. I believe she had the potential to be a great character.

I loved Lauren. I liked her because of season 8's Maggie, not because of Maggie prior to that, but Maggie was such a pain that when Lauren came on, it was so nice to get Richard with someone that wouldn't blame him for everything! She was so lovely, so sweet and I just loved it.

It was a befriending and romance again.