Something (reasonably) interesting I realized: the PEYTON PLACE remake I've been working on has taken many influences from DYNASTY: I've been scouring for the best 1960s outfits for the characters to wear, and figuring out who catfights with who, as well as decided which character I can get away with making gay.
But there are other influences, too. For one thing:
Constance MacKenzie is very much "the Krystle" of this show, being the beautiful blonde who manages to become the matriarch of a good chunk of the cast. Connie is the central heroine (she is the only character who is designated to appear in every single episode), the Mama Bear for her daughter and "found" children... but unlike Krystle, Connie has a full-time job, takes action in the going's on around her, and doesn't waste time helplessly wringing her hands.
Catherine Harrington, it will be no surprise, is "the Alexis", being the brunette diva who struts around in lavish clothes and enjoys screwing peoples' lives over, just because she can. Unlike the original PEYTON PLACE TV show, Catherine is alive for the duration of the show, and we get to see her be confronted by the sins of her past.
Interestingly, these two ladies' respective love interests also have love interests who are basically like Blake and Dex...
...except Connie's love interest, Dr. Mike Rossi, is much more like Dex (tall, dark, handsome hunk who's a bit of an action hero), while Catherine's, her own husband Leslie Harrington, is more like Blake (more specifically, Season 1 Blake; only difference is that Catherine is the one with all the one financial power).
Other examples include:
Allison MacKenzie, though she starts off as the classic ingenue, ends up developing into somewhat like Season 9 Fallon;
Rodney Harrington is like a male version of Season 1 Fallon, only with their problems reversed: while Fallon was underestimated by Blake and expected to just marry wealthy, Leslie Harrington OVER-estimates his son's ablities and is ready to hand over the mill to Rodney, who is perfectly content to be Daddy's Little Trophy Son;
Norman Harrington (the twin brother of Rodney) is kind of like a straight version of Steven; both are sensitive and isolated, albeit for VERY different reasons: Norman is the especial pet/trophy of his mother, who gets INSANELY jealous whenever he just so happens to be in the vicinity of another woman;
Matthew Swain is also a version of Steven, but this time as an older mentor figure: He is the father/uncle figure for Allison, and ends up helping Norman make the necessary steps in getting away from his mother. I decided for my version, Matt Swain is gay - and since this is 1961, closeted.
Selena Cross is a combination of Claudia, Kirby and Amanda: like Claudia, Selena comes from the "poor" side of town and gets taken in by the "rich" characters; like Kirby, she is a rape victim; like Amanda, she has a "princess" aesthetic.
Betty Anderson is also a combination, that of Sammy Jo and a "Alexis-in-training." Betty starts off as another girl from "the wrong side of the tracks" who prances around in little shorts, but due to the trials she goes through, ends up sinking her claws into the ladder that will take her to vast amounts of wealth and power.
