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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 442453" data-attributes="member: 8">The question here is: was R.I.T.A. disliked so much because it was jarringly and unforgivably bad regardless of Dynasty's status quo, or because it was an extremely far-fetched storyline on top of the growing disenchantment that was season 5?Perhaps jump-the-sharks-moments are overrated as isolated cases. Of course it's possible that an incredibly stupid and damaging decision happens out of the blue, but it can also be a more noticeable manifestation of a decline that has been going on for quite a while.For me, season 4 is the first part of Dynasty when I can no longer ignore  it, but just because I can  ignore it in season 3 doesn't mean it wasn't  already happening right there and then.Heck, some people might point at the bizarre Logan Rhinewood plot and Cecil's inconsistent motives, or even the transformation from cinematic seventies drama to "mansion soap". It's just that the good writing and investment in their characters was still very much at the forefront, and Logan Rhinewood seemed mercifully brief.More importantly, blind & fake-blind Blake Carrington was terrific soap, and in a way it foreshadows the psychological and illogical blindness when he didn't realise that his wife had been replaced with an actress. Where's that poison-pen letter when you need it. Ha.There's that intentional dramedy moment in season 3 when Krystle and Alexis are unknowingly fitting for exactly the same La Mirage opening dress.From Biblical good vs. evil to "charmingly funny" signals that it shouldn't be taken too seriously. BUT....it was a moment, and again that makes it easy to ignore (unless you don't want to ignore it because you think it's entertaining. I'm not dictating how other fans should  feel).But then we also get the Blake/Alexis/Neal McVane double-crossing blackmail scheme that looks beyond lame and nonsensical.R.I.T.A. may have been a lot of things, but it certainly wasn't lame (except for the brusque and unsatisfying conclusion).Losing Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon was a bummer, but I think that the victim-y Fallon suited the story in The Colbys. She was not one of their movers and shakers and I'm kinda glad that PSM didn't  have to play those stories. She'd already done too much of that in season 4.Therefore I consider the recast a blessing in disguise, and shaping up "Fallon" for her return to Dynasty was good timing.The UFO is possibly the worst thing that happened in these soaps but it didn't get the chance to destroy anything since The Colbys was cancelled anyway.I think it looks great, not mention mind-blowing, so if you're going to destroy your soap at least do it with flair. I've watched it many, many times and it always looks new and shocking to me. I guess it's the quintessential guilty pleasure.In the Netherlands, Dynasty moved from prime time to daytime, but that had nothing to do with a decline in popularity. The Veronica broadcaster wanted to focus on the more hip and youthful stuff like Miami Vice, and Dynasty was supposed to be considered "cancelled" after season 5. Eventually they succumbed to a nationwide protest, and I still get a bit misty-eyed and proud when I think about "myyyy people" (to quote the miscast Charlton Heston in Ben Hur) bringing Dynasty back to our TV screens.Perhaps this contributes to the idea that Dutch viewers kept loving Dynasty till the very end. Why walk away from it after all the efforts to bring it back?American viewers have that luxury because they never really lose anything as long as the episodes are being produced. The spoilt brats!</blockquote>

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