Should Donna Reed have visited the cul-de-sac?

[Lotus Point Tundra Torque]

Hi all!

A new idea has been germinating in my head... Imagine the possibilities....

Should Donna Reed's Miss Ellie have visited Knots Landing?

Now, before I go any further, I'll situate myself strongly in Barbara Bel Geddes's camp. I am NOT a fan of Reed's portrayal of Miss Ellie at all.

That being said, I always thought it such a travesty that Miss Ellie never visited her favorite son. I have gotten the impression that BBG was rather shy. We know how she shied away rom interviews at the time (one of the reasons that Dinah Shore episode is such a Holy Grail), and from what I understand, BBG said no to Knots Landing. Fine, we have to accept that.

However.... I get the feeling DR would have done anything for the fame and fortune. Hell, she probably would have been honored to be asked to appear on BOTH shows and would have consented. Thus, I have a feeling if we were EVER going to see Miss Ellie on Knots, DR would be the only way. In terms of plot, it could have made perfect sense: Ellie and Clayton travel to Knots to escape the battle for Ewing Oil for a bit under the premise that she wants to introduce her new husband to her favorite son. Granted, this would not be the Miss Ellie we'd want to visit Seaview Circle, but think of what might have been....

• Getting to meet all the neighbors
• Miss Ellie interacting with Abby in person (they talk on the phone like they knew each other, but how would they REALLY get on in person?)
• Would Gary be hurt that he missed his momma's wedding?
• I could see Clayton and Paul Galveston getting along very well. Would this cause even more tension between Gary and Greg?
• Would Miss Ellie accidentally stumble across some bit of evidence about the missing twins??
• Any possibility of scenes between Miss Ellie and Ava Gardner could have been priceless.
• This was also that special time before Bobby "died," so the possibilities of crossovers were on borrowed time.

What do y'all think? Would we accept DR on Knots if it meant we would have been able to see all those scenes that we NEVER got to see? or would DR just completely tarnish Knots and we should leave it alone?

Any other interesting scenes you could think of if Miss Ellie had visited for that '84-'85 season of Knots?

 

[Spooky Owl!]

Abby would figure out immediately that Dona Reed was an imposter, sister of Rita Leslie and trained by George Hamilton to impersonate Miss Ellie. Only KNOTS could make it work. While DALLAS itself makes no reference to the development.

 

[Daniel Avery]

It would be revealed that there was a laboratory of sorts hidden underneath Empire Valley turning out fake soap characters, with Paul Galveston at the helm. Cathy Geary was an early escapee (with amnesia, of course), along with Rita Leslie, Vicki Gioberti, and Steven Carrington. Though the hardware was usually convincing, there were numerous glitches in the software. When he tried to replace the Carrington sisters, for example, the American sister got the English accent, and vice versa.
All the earlier experiments were simply dress rehearsals for his unleashing of Fake Miss Ellie, which he planned to use to take over the entire Ewingverse. Unfortunately, he'd sub-contracted her micro-circuitry to the folks who made the Yugo cars in an effort to cut costs (Donna Reed don't come cheap!). She had to be recalled due to being a fire hazard.

 

[Franko]

Unfortunately, he'd sub-contracted her micro-circuitry to the folks who made the Yugo cars in an effort to cut costs (Donna Reed don't come cheap!). She had to be recalled due to being a fire hazard.

That time she nearly fell off the Mackinac Bridge was also a problem.

 

[Frankenstein Underworld]

Would Miss Ellie accidentally stumble across some bit of evidence about the missing twins??

Yes, she figured out Franklin Horner was behind it. Jock always said you could never trust a banker.

Abby would figure out immediately that Dona Reed was an imposter, sister of Rita Leslie and trained by George Hamilton to impersonate Miss Ellie. Only KNOTS could make it work. While DALLAS itself makes no reference to the development.

Just as Dallas made no reference to Gary going from a brunette to a blonde and becoming slightly taller.

I'd like to think it was all the machinations of Lady Jessica Montford and Jeremy Wendell myself.

 

[Crimson]

Main topic aside, KNOTS LANDING seems to be the 80s soap Donna Reed was most suited for (just not as Miss Ellie!)

 

[Spooky Owl!]

I'd like to think it was all the machinations of Lady Jessica Montford and Jeremy Wendell myself.

All of the Ewings problems in the later seasons should have been the result of the machinations of Lady Jessica Montford and Jeremy Wendell. Maybe Leslie Stewart, too.

The reptiles come for JR.

Main topic aside, KNOTS LANDING seems to be the 80s soap Donna Reed was most suited for (just not as Miss Ellie!)

Really? Not sure she's gritty enough for KNOTS -- but I always see her as Lana Turner's sister.

 

[Chris2]

Donna Reed would have been best suited for Falcon Crest, I think. They were always looking for old ladies to go up against and share scenes with the show’s resident old lady, Angela. Lana Turner. Jane Greer. Celeste Holm. Eve Arden. Anne Jeffreys.

Donna would have fit right in.

 

[Crimson]

Really? Not sure she's gritty enough for KNOTS -- but I always see her as Lana Turner's sister.

Well I say that as someone who has never seen so much as 10 minutes of KNOTS, but I gather it was the most bourgeoise of the 80s soaps. That was Donna's image from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE through THE DONNA REED SHOW -- middle American domesticity. She seemed ill suited to the glitz of any of the other soaps of the era.

 

[Mustard]

Barbara Bel Geddes should have, in early Season 7 of Knots Landing, after Bobby's death. But as she had just returned to Dallas at the time, and with Donna Reed's litigation going on, it wasn't a good time politically for that.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I'm no expert on such contract details, but...
Perhaps Lorimar could have struck a deal with Donna Reed to leave Dallas and join the cast of Knots Landing in a new role, maybe even keep her same salary in order to avoid the litigation. I'm fuzzy on the time frame of DR's departure from Dallas but who knows? She might have been a valuable addition to KL (for a period of time).

 

[Chris2]

She could have played Jean Hackney!

 

[DallasFanForever]

I just don’t see Donna Reed fitting in on Knots. But I can see her being a much better fit for Falcon Crest.

 

[Sea - Boo! - Er]

I like the idea. Like it or not, she was Miss Ellie at the time and if a suitable plot could be found I say go for it.

 

[Mustard]

I'm no expert on such contract details, but...
Perhaps Lorimar could have struck a deal with Donna Reed to leave Dallas and join the cast of Knots Landing in a new role, maybe even keep her same salary in order to avoid the litigation. I'm fuzzy on the time frame of DR's departure from Dallas but who knows? She might have been a valuable addition to KL (for a period of time).

Remember that Donna Reed passed away soon after, in January 1986.