Rewatching Knots Landing

[Soaplover]

I'm wondering if the writing was mentioning when Gary/Abby separated in season 5 after Gary uncovered Abby's initial lies about Lotus Point? I remember after she was kidnapped and rescued at the start of season 6, the two decided to reunite and start over while he let Cathy down. So at the end of season 7, this was the second divorce proceeding that was starting.. not that they actually divorced, but were going to split.

 

[James from London]

Abby and Gary get remarried?

They didn't. They haven't got divorced at this point. They split up over Wolfbridge for a while, but didn't make it legal.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I remember something about Gary saying (about the upcoming divorce) "This isn't the 1950s, Abby" and then she says "But it'll feel like it!" strongly suggesting that it's going to be trashy and melodramatic courtroom battle.

 

[Daniel Avery]

He indeed started divorce proceedings but did not go through with them; she threated to drag him through the mud and get the ranch in a potential divorce, even if she clearly did not want it. They wanted to get divorced again later on but the show came up with another clever reason to keep them together (no spoilers) so yes, there was only one "real" divorce despite many attempts.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

They didn't. They haven't got divorced at this point. They split up over Wolfbridge for a while, but didn't make it legal.

Ok this is the answer that makes most sense to me. They were going to get divorced, then Abby was kidnapped, and post-rescue they were back together.

 

[Stillwitty]

I am physically anxious watching Val go through these pre-labour cramps. I've completely forgotten all the details of how this storyline unfolds but the general plot exists in my mind as one that was well done. Val's pregnancy has felt incredibly long, but it's all coming to a head now. And Abby's involvement in everything, without her knowing (as far as I'm aware, at Donna's request), is building such great anticipation. Confused Abby is basically a whole new character lol.

Karen and Mack, I am delighted they're back together. I just adore these two as a couple.

The Joshua/Cathy storyline is anxiety-inducing as well. I don't quite remember how it all goes down, but it's a bit like watching Chip's trainwreck and knowing that, sooner or later, everything is going to completely fall apart. That's both the best and worst part of a rewatch.

Seeing Lotus Point again was like unlocking a memory. I had almost no recollection of the physical location in my head and think I'd somehow merged it with Empire Valley (which I assume is coming up in another season or two?). But the little stream running through the reception area immediately had me thinking OMG this place. It was one of those things that had only existed as a foggy memory until now.

After losing Kenny and Ginger, and then Richard, I'm not surprised Laura is next to depart at some point. It feels like the writers don't really know what to do with her right now, and they haven't seemed to know for the last several storylines either.

MacKaren are the best. Writers kept splitting them up as though happily married couples are boring...

I've crushed through several episodes over the last few days, and I keep coming back to the same thoughts.

• Why is Ben still on the show? The Ben/PJ Kelly relationship is so boring, even though they're clearly trying to make it seem interesting. Kelly is incredibly pushy, Ben is obviously not into it at all, and yet they keep making us watch it.
• In my recollection of events, Abby found out the babies were alive much closer to the end of the storyline, and had to make a big decision about what to do with that information. So I was almost completely caught off guard by the fact that it's basically the opposite. This plot is good! Val's disappearance afterwards, and Abby's conflicted feelings about whether she even wants Val found, is delightfully complex.
• Paul Galveston is so brusque he belongs on Dallas. When Greg said something like "I hate when he calls me Laddie," I had to agree. Gag.
• Val as Verna is interesting (Lilimae's comment about Verna being Val, not Lilimae, was insightful), but it was/is going on for too long. Watching it week to week must have been painful.
• I feel better about Empire Valley and Lotus Point being connected in my head now, because they're extensions of each other's land (I think?), so I wasn't too far off.
• Joshua's slide into religious madness is stressing me out. It's such a quintessentially '80s televangelist plot, but in a lot of ways it feels very current too.
• Michael and Eric. Gosh, I just love those two. Diana being gone has really improved things.

ETA: I am thrown off by this actor, he looks way too much like Mack (it's the hair) to me. I keep getting confused while watching and initially wondering why Mack is showing up in the Galveston Industries scenes.

IKR? The other one is Tom Jezik (sp?) Mack's assistant. He looked enough like him to be his brother...

I've thought about re-watching KNOTS LANDING considering it's finally available for streaming, but I can't do an Episode 1 re-watch. I might start at Season 3 and see where it goes from there.

I always start from there. 1 & 2 are like a different show...not in a good way, either.

That's what Michael said to Kay in one of the first scenes of The Godfather, and look how that panned out. I think it's precisely this tragic character descent that gives the film so much oomph. He was the favourite son, the "Bobby", meant for better things, and Michael Corleone himself thought he was a "Gary".
A Corleone is a Corleone, and a Ewing is a Ewing - and lives will be ruined.

I rewatched this film today and I loved it much more than the first time, but at the heart of it this is very much a potboiler, not High Literature. The fact that it's beautifully made doesn't change any of that.
And so I find it ironic that people would look down their nose on the soap opera genre while simultaneously lauding The Godfather as the best film ever made.
It is a great film, but not better than many of the other great films made in the 1970s.
I'm not going to rewatch the sequel because it adds information that I don't need, and I remember disliking it very much so at best I will dislike it a little less. But it's also partially a prequel and I hate prequels.


A soap with perfectly sane characters would be unwatchable. I Iike them for the good and bad decisions they make.
I think one of Knots' most brilliant moments is when Abby confesses whatever she knew about the Twin Drama and still pull the wool over everyone's eyes (although Greg remained suspicious, but it takes a crook to know a crook).

It's funny you mention The Godfather: There are several lines in Knots lifted word for word from GF. For one, the scene with Mack and Det Janet Baine visit Richard after Ciji is murdered and Laura screams and runs up the stairs. Richard says, "She's hysterical. Hysterical." Same inflection as Michael Corleone when speaking of his sister to Kay at the end of GF1. There's another one, but it escapes my memory at the moment, but I posted on the Knots FB page.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

Just finished Season 7. Entertainment-wise, it was kind of middling compared to last season.

What a wet blanket Ben turned into. My God, they just don't know what to do with him. He's at his best when he's competent at his job and actually invested in something, journalist, TV station manager, investigative partner, all perfectly good roles. Pouty, sulky husband and cheater? Blah

I'm surprised Laura wasn't written out sooner. They gave her absolutely nothing to do. Even the whole "I married Greg Sumner and the kids aren't happy about it" storyline lasted literally one scene ‍

Karen's kidnapping feels like a pretty cheap end-of-season cliffhanger to get people back for next season.

I guess all the interesting Jill and Peter stuff comes next season, because I distinctly remember those two being way more unhinged than they've been so far.

Paige's introduction really surprised me. She's so sweet and innocent, which is not how I remember Paige So what's going on here? Is she just a character they hadn't figured out yet, or is she a scheming liar? I'll have to wait and see.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Is she just a character they hadn't figured out yet, or is she a scheming liar?

I feel that's how it played out, but also from the character's point of view. Paige had to discover for herself what kind of person she wanted to be, and I think she chose not to be her mother.

Linda Fairgate was another character in development but she kept going back and forth (and sideways) and it looked as if she was written by 10 different writers.