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<blockquote data-quote="Snarky Oracle!" data-source="post: 441771" data-attributes="member: 57984">The reason Alexis had so much panache, and was almost immediately credited with being &quot;best&quot; villainess in TV history -- and yet had the least actualized long-term potential -- was that Alexis was written as a prostitute... She thought like a prostitute, acted like a prostitute, walked like a prostitute, stabbed and shot like a prostitute, was lazy like a prostitute, doing essentially nothing except what a prostitute does.And that&#039;s basically why she became the perceived Star of All &#039;80s Bitches, because that slattern-dilettante quality is required for a certain type of &quot;star&quot;. It&#039;s the paradox of: too much class is ignored unless you throw some whoredom into the mix... As beautiful and talented as Elizabeth Taylor was, she would never be recalled with the same resonance she is today had she not slipped into her regal-vulgarian period beginning with Eddie Fisher and, soon after, BUTTERFIELD 8 and CLEOPATRA, to say nothing of Richard Burton. (What made it work so well for Taylor was that she was smart enough to know all this in a way most slattern-whores don&#039;t -- and she actually knew the artists&#039; names of the paintings in the salons in which she luxuriated).The brassy hooker trope is all anybody ever remembers.Angela, Abby, Sable -- as better-written as they were, and all played by superior actresses to Joan Collins -- Joan&#039;s willingness (and inability to avoid) performing Alexis like a whore, gave Alexis the edge (deservedly or not).But, y&#039;know, old buildings and politicians.Joan&#039;s and Alexis&#039; barely-concealed insecurities made you keep an eye on her. It always got her more attention, like a fancy-looking, cheap brandy decanter that&#039;s edging closer and closer to the mantle&#039;s edge and might make a terrible mess if it falls -- even though it&#039;s worthless, and the private stock is safely on a cabinet shelf behind lock &amp; key reserved for those who possess the more sophisticated palate..... have I taken this too far? I started out making a solid point and then got caught up in the metaphors and it spiraled out of control and the meaning was lost. And perhaps that&#039;s nonetheless fitting and appropriate, and I did it on purpose.The final irony being that Joan Collins was never really a slut. (Alexis, maybe -- but I wouldn&#039;t bet on it).Jane Wyman, in contrast, was married to a future president and even got along with his ex-wife (who actually was a slut -- and it got her into the White House).<img src="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1934818318/photo/joan-collins-performs-striptease-on-stage-in-a-scene-for-the-1957-film-seven-thieves.jpg?s=612x612&amp;w=gi&amp;k=20&amp;c=XD6FVcSG4hFWdUVQKEDqeKJwnjV8-rhCJNpM2anK4TI=" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 782px" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Snarky Oracle!, post: 441771, member: 57984"] The reason Alexis had so much panache, and was almost immediately credited with being "best" villainess in TV history -- and yet had the least actualized long-term potential -- was that Alexis was written as a prostitute... She thought like a prostitute, acted like a prostitute, walked like a prostitute, stabbed and shot like a prostitute, was lazy like a prostitute, doing essentially nothing except what a prostitute does. And that's basically why she became the perceived Star of All '80s Bitches, because that slattern-dilettante quality is required for a certain type of "star". It's the paradox of: too much class is ignored unless you throw some whoredom into the mix... As beautiful and talented as Elizabeth Taylor was, she would never be recalled with the same resonance she is today had she not slipped into her regal-vulgarian period beginning with Eddie Fisher and, soon after, BUTTERFIELD 8 and CLEOPATRA, to say nothing of Richard Burton. (What made it work so well for Taylor was that she was smart enough to know all this in a way most slattern-whores don't -- and she actually knew the artists' names of the paintings in the salons in which she luxuriated). The brassy hooker trope is all anybody ever remembers. Angela, Abby, Sable -- as better-written as they were, and all played by superior actresses to Joan Collins -- Joan's willingness (and inability to avoid) performing Alexis like a whore, gave Alexis the edge (deservedly or not). But, y'know, old buildings and politicians. Joan's and Alexis' barely-concealed insecurities made you keep an eye on her. It always got her more attention, like a fancy-looking, cheap brandy decanter that's edging closer and closer to the mantle's edge and might make a terrible mess if it falls -- even though it's worthless, and the private stock is safely on a cabinet shelf behind lock & key reserved for those who possess the more sophisticated palate. .... have I taken this too far? I started out making a solid point and then got caught up in the metaphors and it spiraled out of control and the meaning was lost. And perhaps that's nonetheless fitting and appropriate, and I did it on purpose. The final irony being that Joan Collins was never really a slut. (Alexis, maybe -- but I wouldn't bet on it). Jane Wyman, in contrast, was married to a future president and even got along with his ex-wife (who actually [I][B]was [/B][/I]a slut -- and it got her into the White House). [IMG width="782px"]https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1934818318/photo/joan-collins-performs-striptease-on-stage-in-a-scene-for-the-1957-film-seven-thieves.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=XD6FVcSG4hFWdUVQKEDqeKJwnjV8-rhCJNpM2anK4TI=[/IMG] [/QUOTE]

Verification

Who played Sue Ellen in Dallas?