Has there ever been a more perfect casting choice in television

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

How did they get so lucky, after questionable choices, Kathleen Beller, to just all wrong Geoffrey Scott, Jack Coleman , Helmut Berger to just plain ehh could have been anyone , Deborah Adair, Michael Nader, did they strike the jackpot.
She was gorgeous, perfect voice, pouty, styled to perfection, not since season 1 Fallon did we see a rich spoiled heiress dressed the part.
The years in between we got matronly, too old (Fallon) or downright bizarre- Kirby, Sammy Jo.
She fit into the Dianna craze and new wave British Invasion in music.
How did they find her. What did she do prior to Dynasty, she wasn’t a very good actor unlike Pamela Sue and Al but made up with attitude,she filled a void after Pamela left and who thought that was possible.
Was Brooke Sheilds really in consideration as well as Ornella Muti (who was a bit too old but exotic enough to be Joan Collins’ daughter, were those rumors true at all?
How did the inept team get so lucky and who really found her?
She really was the reason season 5 made it to number 1, everything else that year made no sense at all and the other new casting was completely forgettable and bad


A real life princess

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Okay, are you talking about Catherine Oxenberg? I heard somewhere that the Pollocks, flawed as they were, found Oxenberg, Beacham and O'Mara; if so, that's to their credit (the Pollocks were known for good casting, as were Esther and Aaron.

Oxenberg was indeed perfectly cast. A versatile actress? One would think not. But no one else could play Amanda.

How did they get so lucky, after questionable choices, Kathleen Beller, to just all wrong Geoffrey Scott, Jack Coleman , Helmut Berger to just plain ehh could have been anyone , Deborah Adair, Michael Nader, did they strike the jackpot.

Out of that list, I'll only defend Kathleen Beller, as Kirby. I would cast no one else.

 

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

. But no one else could play Amanda.

I beg your pardon.

on Oxenberg that looked glamorous and chic , she looks like she’s heading to a comic con convention.
Kathleen was fine, they should have written her stronger and a bit devious, especially about Fallon, new Dynasty which I guess is old Dynasty now as horrible as it became made that their initial relationship.
Kirby in season 4 was what horrible thing can we do to this character next, over and over.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

The big four nighttime soaps of the '80s were unusually well-cast, and that was the key to their appeal and the trick to their longevity. Even after most of them had begun to fall apart midway through the decade, the narratives and the ambiance lost, viewers kept coming back -- for a while -- in hopes that the original fire that had once made them so compelling would be reignited.

But while DYNASTY was as effectively cast as any of them, when that show chose the wrong actor (e.g., Geoffrey Scott, Jack Coleman , Helmut Berger, Michael Nader) it flubbed in a way the others didn't, the poor choices resembling that from a second-rate episode of LOVE BOAT.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The only ones that I would consider uninspired casting choices:
Amanda 2 (no acting skills, that's not an insult it's simply the truth)
Nicole De Vilbis (totally unbelievable as PDV's partner)
King Galen (not royal and flamboyant enough)
Tanner McBride (randomly daytime-soap pretty, at least pick a Mexican guy or something)

All the others looked like the type they were playing (or as much as they were allowed to do).

 

[Angela Channing]

Out of that list, I'll only defend Kathleen Beller, as Kirby. I would cast no one else.

Unusually, I agree with you. I really don't get the negativity about Kathleen Beller as Kirby, I really liked her in the role.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Unusually, I agree with you.

Oh, don't start now. It makes me uncomfortable.

 

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

Dynasty awkwardly got rid of season 1 characters, Walter just vanished from the story before the season ended. Season 2 had Michael vanish even though he was in the court room cliffhanger, Matthew out of character abandons his fragile wife and steals her daughter away from her.
Season 3 got rid of Steven, Cecil, Sammy Jo, Nick but replaced them with less important characters except for Adam so not having an “Alexis” take over the plot I guess it was more noticeable.
If they only were able to keep the original “family “ cast together I don’t think the quality would have taken such a nose dive each season after that.
Nicole was originally supposed to be Daniel Reese’s daughter, I don’t know which genius decided to make her Peter Devilbus’ wife , I guess to plot out that stupid treasure story but yes you can’t just change a characters purpose after the role is cast if that casting doesn’t make sense, Devilbis only was interested in women with money or models so yeah wtf. All wrong but right for a bland American horse heiress. Too bad they didn’t do the Jeff has a three way with a woman and man who were trying to swindle him, I can see Jeff giving that big ass of his up if the opportunity arose
You can’t recast a character then abruptly dump the story after you fire the mistake only to bring another character in to continue that storyline
Like horrible character Leslie, it doesn’t work
the same with the Michael - Clay switch, couldn’t they just write new stories??

 

[Zara]

PSM was/is an amazing actor, for TV. She took to Fallon and Fallon took to her.
Have you noticed just how badly and cringy everyone on Dynasty - except PSM - do the "I must pause her because the phone is going to ring or the person opposite me is going into to an emotional frenzy"? This is almost an acting-theme on Dynasty, but PSM is a breath of fresh air since she really understood acting and that you play until the signal comes, so to speak.

It's so sad she didn't want to stay on the show, you/I really miss her after she has gone off into the night on her special day. You wondered what could have been...

 

[tommie]

The big four nighttime soaps of the '80s were unusually well-cast, and that was the key to their appeal and the trick to their longevity.

Main cast, maybe, but I'd argue that the Lorimar soaps usually went with "safe" choices for side characters, which is why people usually don't give them as much grief over missed opportunities like Dynasty. While Dynasty had some questionable choices, they actually took risks with casting which seemed to pay off more often than not. Of course, this has lead to us often berating them for wasting so many of these side characters because they had more life than the show was willing to give them.

So what's better? Casting bland like the Lorimar soaps for side characters or casting bold like Dynasty?

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

It's so sad she didn't want to stay on the show, you/I really miss her after she has gone off into the night on her special day. You wondered what could have been...

Yes, but DYNASTY is all about the "what-could-have-been"s.

There is, as I've always said, a strange, nostalgic, heart-broken poignance below the surface of this mostly-manic, effed-up show; it's evident in the three-hour pilot, the first season, aspect of Seasons 2 and 9 -- even here-and-there, by-accident, during its middle, nutso years.

But the showrunners stopped listening to nature as it applied to their own program. So those elements are slathered over (and, yes, suffocated) by so much hollow malarkey that one has to dig a Colorado oil well to find it..

I always wish they'd successfully lured back Pamela Sue for the Roger Grimes storyline from Season 9. (Emma did a decent job, but she just wasn't Fallon). With Martin, we really would have believed she'd been haunted by those fractured, ghostly memories from within that ramshackled cottage on the far edge of the estate (in the foothills at the base of Scorpio Peak, I tell myself).

 

[Mustard]

Dynasty awkwardly got rid of season 1 characters, Walter just vanished from the story before the season ended. Season 2 had Michael vanish even though he was in the court room cliffhanger, Matthew out of character abandons his fragile wife and steals her daughter away from her.

In Season 1 of Dynasty, it was hard to imagine the show without Matthew Blaisdel being in it, as Blake Carrington's former friend and employee turned enemy and love rival.

 

[Mustard]

PSM was/is an amazing actor, for TV. She took to Fallon and Fallon took to her.


It's so sad she didn't want to stay on the show, you/I really miss her after she has gone off into the night on her special day. You wondered what could have been...

Pamela Sue Martin in Season 1 was possibly the best thing in Dynasty, doing her best Tallulah Bankhead wit, and her relationships with her father Blake and brother Steven. Much of that wit was still there in Seasons 2-3, and even early in Season 4, but it was fading compared to Season 1. I think Alexis took more and more of Fallon's thunder over time, especially once Alexis was into money.

 

[Zara]

Pamela Sue Martin in Season 1 was possibly the best thing in Dynasty, doing her best Tallulah Bankhead wit, and her relationships with her father Blake and brother Steven. Much of that wit was still there in Seasons 2-3, and even early in Season 4, but it was fading compared to Season 1. I think Alexis took more and more of Fallon's thunder over time, especially once Alexis was into money.

Not to mention her beautiful and uniquely soap name - Fallon.
Dynasty always got most of the names right apart form overusing some, like Rita and Michael.

The names, the house and Alexis' apartment and the clothes got to be D:s best features. Along with three strong main actors.
Speaking of the mansion, it's funny how the Carringtons can get visitors announced only first by the butler when inside the house; when they have a front gate and quite a bit of drive to get to the house, and therefor must have checked in with security and such.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Not to mention her beautiful and uniquely soap name - Fallon.

I've decided that "Fallon" was Blake's mother's maiden name, Ellen Lucy Fallon, a member of the powerful Catholic Fallon family dynasty who ran Boulder for two hundred years and disinherited her (temporarily) when she married that no-account protestant varmint Tom (which was also Audra Barkley's father's name, so I get confused) from Pennsylvania -- the family only reinstating Ellen in the will once her son Blake started to make good in the oil business in the mid-'50s. (Only months before Ellen died in that horrific fire, thus leaving that crater to her eldest son). The Fallon empire ultimately brought down by Cecil's ColbyCo from the shadows, over a military hardware deal gone wrong.

After all, in Season 9, Adam describes himself as a member "of one of the oldest, most-respected families in Colorado." But the Carringtons had only been a big whoop in The Rocky Mountain State for a couple of generations! So, I say: let's use that!

But not everyone loves my latticework of back story ideas.

How evil is Blake's mother? | Forums for television shows past and present

 

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

Season 5 - where nothing made any sense.
You thought season 4 had a lot of WTF moments but 5 was all WTF.
Including the re write of the backstories.
I blame Pamela Sue Martin’s departure 100%
If the lame writing team decided to create Dominique Deveraux and needed to give her a reason to be there then go for it and make her the new Alexis/ Cecil all in one and take DC down instead of becoming the singing nun
She and Alexis should have been allies.
Alexis wasn’t doing anything that season and the only reason Amanda worked was because of their casting choice
It’s like in the reunion and Jeff Colby the heir of 3 oil dynasties is driving a Ford Taurus, it’s WTF.
I know season 9 tried to explain those re writes but I can’t remember how it was explained except the tunnels that just happened to connect the house to Delta Rho,
why didn’t Krystle just take the tunnel home?
Obviously Sammy Jo’s ranch hands and cleaning staff were deaf and didn’t notice or hear the bloody screams coming from upstairs for 6 months

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Season 5 - where nothing made any sense.
You thought season 4 had a lot of WTF moments but 5 was all WTF.
Including the re write of the backstories.
I blame Pamela Sue Martin’s departure 100%
If the lame writing team decided to create Dominique Deveraux and needed to give her a reason to be there then go for it and make her the new Alexis/ Cecil all in one and take DC down instead of becoming the singing nun
She and Alexis should have been allies.
Alexis wasn’t doing anything that season and the only reason Amanda worked was because of their casting choice
It’s like in the reunion and Jeff Colby the heir of 3 oil dynasties is driving a Ford Taurus, it’s WTF

Yes, the casting choice for Amanda #1 totally worked, and Season 5 made little sense (but a certain chutzpa kept the show afloat, to whatever degree).

About two-thirds of the way through Season 5, David Jacobs (DALLAS' and KNOTS' creator) said in an interview that despite the glitz, DYNASTY "is going to have to start focusing on 'story'." About the same time, the DYNASTY brass (according to Doug Cramer, years later) had become concerned that their narrative was too weak (perhaps because of Jacobs' comments in the press?) but there's no sign that anything was done.

In fact, Esther had trashed the lack of plot & character development in BERRENGERS in early-1985, and then hired its writer-producer, Dana Gould, to work on Season 6 of DYNASTY later that year (perhaps because Gould was a woman?). And we know how well that turned out (although I don't particularly blame Gould). The Pollocks still ran the show.

PSM left after Season 4 because of "where the writing was" at that point. And that Pollockian "structure" and sometimes operatically illogical dialogue from Ed de Blasio wasn't going to get any better in Season 5 (even though there was an additional splash -- albeit suffocated splash -- for Season 5).

I missed Fallon#1, but I think her exit was inevitable and, frankly, it's hard to imagine PSM being there in Seasons 5 or 6 (or Season 7). I wish they'd brought her back for Seasons 8 and particularly Season 9 (but Paulsen's desire to re-hire Martin for Season 9 was apparently the only choice by Paulsen that Aaron Spelling stopped before it happened).

Martin has said before that the original writers for DYNASTY (Chester Krumholz?) were let go and replaced by "traditional soap writers" (the Pollocks) and that the show morphed from being "a witty satire of the rich-and-famous" into a "lame celebration"... Which is exactly correct.

Goddess bless her, but had PSM stayed, the continued deterioration would have happened regardless.. I mean, that's largely why she left! And had she stayed, the producers would likely have never thought to bring in Amanda (which helped keep Season 5 alive, such as it -- and she -- was).

As long as the Pollocks were there, they were allowed to overlord everything, and changing staff writers just didn't matter much.

 

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

I could have done without Amanda (that character crashed and burned fast)
I could have done without Adam.
Season 1 they felt like a family although very dysfunctional, even season 2 but a bit less.
The mother coming back was good and sort of realistic, especially early in the season.
Season 3 felt off even though PSM had good chemistry with Gordon. The family feeling to me was gone, by the time Amanda arrived the original realistic season 1 family was long gone.
It was stupid to add children out of thin air twice when an original child went missing.
I disagree about season 5 had Martin stayed,
They went all out crazy and added those “special” guest stars that weren’t special at all to fill the void of Martin’s Fallon being gone which was a big deal.
I think season 5 would have went along much like 4 did which wasn’t great but it wasn’t all over the place like 5.
Alexis taking over the house in season 5 with the help of his brother would have been a big deal
I think with writing strong like season 1 and 2 but added exotic location filming they could have gone to # 1 at the end of 4.
it really didn’t matter that they made it to the top in 1985 since tv taste was changing big time and soaps were coming to an end

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

I could have done without Amanda (that character crashed and burned fast)
I could have done without Adam.
Season 1 they felt like a family although very dysfunctional, even season 2 but a bit less.
The mother coming back was good and sort of realistic, especially early in the season.
Season 3 felt off even though PSM had good chemistry with Gordon. The family feeling to me was gone, by the time Amanda arrived the original realistic season 1 family was long gone.
It was stupid to add children out of thin air twice when an original child went missing.
I disagree about season 5 had Martin had stayed,
They went all out crazy and added those “special” guest stars that weren’t special at all to fill the void of Martin’s Fallon being gone which was a big deal.
I think season 5 would have went along much like 4 did which wasn’t great but it wasn’t all over the place like 5.

Okay, but why do you think PSM left to begin with? The writing (which wasn't going to get any better). I mean, she said as much!

 

[Lankershim Blasdel 1]

Okay, but why do you think PSM left to begin with?

She wanted to do Star Games with Caitlin Jenner.
“ I am big, it’s the pictures that got small”
She should have looked to see how great it worked out for her TV brother before she split.
It’s a very gifted career and she took it for granted I guess, she could have worked in a meat processing plant or taught kindergarten to a room of screaming kids flinging their snots at her.
One thing about Emma Samms and even Jack to a degree, they knew they were given a gift and Emma gave back to charities for kids and used that fame for good, Pamela didn’t,
She aimed for movies like Patrick Duffy but he came to his senses, she was stubborn, she probably didn’t want to hear Joan saying I told you bitch
The recasting was the worst thing, more than the writing or the stiff acting
It hurt the series the most