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Dynasty
When you heard that there would be a spinoff of Dynasty what were you expecting and did it live up to your expectation?
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<blockquote data-quote="Snarky Oracle!" data-source="post: 430341" data-attributes="member: 57984"><p>I was already very cynical about DYNASTY by 1985 (Season 3 and beyond frustrated me out the wazoo) and I felt the creative frustrations were so rigid that the spinoff, THE COLBYS, couldn't me much better.</p><p></p><p>As it turned out, although THE COLBYS had less innate potential, it was slightly better, because Huson & Bast were the de facto show-runners. So, the issues that so suffocated DYNASTY (and I'm still bitching about 40 years later) via The Pollocks, the show-runners for the parent series, weren't really there. (Yes, the Pollocks technically worked on both shows, but Heston's refusal to allow S.A.D. to infect his own show may have saved it -- even if the dreadful timeslot doomed it anyway).</p><p></p><p>For those reasons, I didn't expect THE COLBYS to work. Dreams of the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts were highly unlikely, as DYNASTY'S campy, "Hollywood-rich" tone seemed inevitably the pattern that THE COLBYS would follow.... And that "dumbish" flavor so many Aaron Spelling shows have.</p><p></p><p>I even foolishly hoped that Spelling's HOTEL might have a slightly gothic tone, befitting the plush lobby set and the presence of Bette Davis in the 1983 pilot. And I was disabused of that fantasy in seconds.</p><p></p><p>I've said before that the Fallmont family from Season 6 & 7 was a nice opportunity to introduce a more genuinely blue-blooded, Old Money, high society brood into DYNASTY -- but, of course, that wasn't on anybody's agenda behind the camera.</p><p></p><p>As John Forsythe once said, "the producers didn't know what they wanted (for the series)". And it's true. They wanted it to be All Things to All Viewers, and thus seemed conflicted over every frame. So why would THE COLBYS be any better (although it was, slightly, and perhaps the neglect helped -- just as it helped Season 8 of DYNASTY somewhat)?</p><p></p><p>Too many cooks spoil the cuisine, especially when it's been sitting out under the lights for hours.</p><p></p><p>DYNASTY itself <em><strong>should </strong></em>have been a Rockefellers & Vanderbilts kind of show -- a show about Old Rich having to deal with the <em>nouveau riche. </em>But it was a bad sign when one of the most resonant-if-oblique references in all of DYNASTY ("that Greek tycoon and his wife, that wretchedly unhappy woman.." an obvious tip of the yachtsman's cap to Onassis & Jackie) was downgraded on THE COLBYS to merely Zach Powers and his lady.</p><p></p><p>Or, as Alexis might claim, "There were <em><strong>lots </strong></em>of Greek tycoons."</p><p></p><p></p><p><img src="https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2C6C166/los-angelescausa-library-cast-of-dynasty-and-the-colbys-at-an-event-to-promote-the-latter-spin-off-series-1st-december-1985-l-r-calvin-lockhart-michael-praed-kate-omara-troy-beyer-pamela-bellwood-heather-locklear-catherine-oxenberg-diahamm-carroll-george-hamilton-john-forsythe-joe-campanella-linda-evans-jack-coleman-ricardo-montalban-barbara-stanwyck-ken-howard-john-james-charlton-heston-emma-samms-stephanie-beacham-katherine-ross-ray-stricklyn-maxwell-caufield-claire-yarlett-charles-van-eman-tracy-scoggins-philip-brown-sitting-in-the-front-l-r-are-ric-2C6C166.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 884px" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snarky Oracle!, post: 430341, member: 57984"] I was already very cynical about DYNASTY by 1985 (Season 3 and beyond frustrated me out the wazoo) and I felt the creative frustrations were so rigid that the spinoff, THE COLBYS, couldn't me much better. As it turned out, although THE COLBYS had less innate potential, it was slightly better, because Huson & Bast were the de facto show-runners. So, the issues that so suffocated DYNASTY (and I'm still bitching about 40 years later) via The Pollocks, the show-runners for the parent series, weren't really there. (Yes, the Pollocks technically worked on both shows, but Heston's refusal to allow S.A.D. to infect his own show may have saved it -- even if the dreadful timeslot doomed it anyway). For those reasons, I didn't expect THE COLBYS to work. Dreams of the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts were highly unlikely, as DYNASTY'S campy, "Hollywood-rich" tone seemed inevitably the pattern that THE COLBYS would follow.... And that "dumbish" flavor so many Aaron Spelling shows have. I even foolishly hoped that Spelling's HOTEL might have a slightly gothic tone, befitting the plush lobby set and the presence of Bette Davis in the 1983 pilot. And I was disabused of that fantasy in seconds. I've said before that the Fallmont family from Season 6 & 7 was a nice opportunity to introduce a more genuinely blue-blooded, Old Money, high society brood into DYNASTY -- but, of course, that wasn't on anybody's agenda behind the camera. As John Forsythe once said, "the producers didn't know what they wanted (for the series)". And it's true. They wanted it to be All Things to All Viewers, and thus seemed conflicted over every frame. So why would THE COLBYS be any better (although it was, slightly, and perhaps the neglect helped -- just as it helped Season 8 of DYNASTY somewhat)? Too many cooks spoil the cuisine, especially when it's been sitting out under the lights for hours. DYNASTY itself [I][B]should [/B][/I]have been a Rockefellers & Vanderbilts kind of show -- a show about Old Rich having to deal with the [I]nouveau riche. [/I]But it was a bad sign when one of the most resonant-if-oblique references in all of DYNASTY ("that Greek tycoon and his wife, that wretchedly unhappy woman.." an obvious tip of the yachtsman's cap to Onassis & Jackie) was downgraded on THE COLBYS to merely Zach Powers and his lady. Or, as Alexis might claim, "There were [I][B]lots [/B][/I]of Greek tycoons." [IMG width="884px"]https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2C6C166/los-angelescausa-library-cast-of-dynasty-and-the-colbys-at-an-event-to-promote-the-latter-spin-off-series-1st-december-1985-l-r-calvin-lockhart-michael-praed-kate-omara-troy-beyer-pamela-bellwood-heather-locklear-catherine-oxenberg-diahamm-carroll-george-hamilton-john-forsythe-joe-campanella-linda-evans-jack-coleman-ricardo-montalban-barbara-stanwyck-ken-howard-john-james-charlton-heston-emma-samms-stephanie-beacham-katherine-ross-ray-stricklyn-maxwell-caufield-claire-yarlett-charles-van-eman-tracy-scoggins-philip-brown-sitting-in-the-front-l-r-are-ric-2C6C166.jpg[/IMG] [/QUOTE]
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When you heard that there would be a spinoff of Dynasty what were you expecting and did it live up to your expectation?
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