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Dallas the TV series
Dallas - The Original Series
Worst Dallas storyline in the show's run
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<blockquote data-quote="Spooky Owl!" data-source="post: 368738" data-attributes="member: 57984"><p>Not sure I agree about that one. It's a brief moment, Pam is in an emotional quandary (and, hence, desperate) and getting the shakes.</p><p></p><p>Bringing in supernatural elements to a show is tricky, and whether it works or not is a matter of balance. The tone has to match the personality of the show itself.</p><p></p><p>I like the way DALLAS did Pam's trip to the psychic in 1984. There was a shrouded, hushed mood over the scene. It was all underplayed, and I'm not sure they even mentioned it again.</p><p></p><p>That's why it worked. Less was more. Hint at the supernatural ... and then move on.</p><p></p><p>Three years earlier, DYNASTY had a trip to a psychic -- Alexis in Rome with Adriana -- and, true to the series, it was far less subtle, and more hyperbolic like the show around it. And this <strong>also </strong>worked, because DYNASTY was still good and hadn't yet stumbled... Later, they brought in another psychic to search for Steven, but the increasingly muddled flavor and structure of the series prevented it from coming off very effectively. (I'd push DYNASTY to the limit, myself, as many posters know: I'd have Krystle's headaches, courtesy of Alexis, turn Blake's second wife into a clairvoyant healer in Season 8 just shortly before leaving the show, played completely straight and camp-free, a tip of the hat to the old Obi-Wan Kenobi sentiment to Darth Vader that<em> 'if you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine'</em>.... And by the final Season 10, which never happened, Adam finds an ever-so-slightly glowing crystal skull amongst The Collection, quietly and dutifully delivering it to his mama, Alexis, and then mother-and-son gently prod Jeff for historical geologic information about such artifacts, unaware that "the Europeans" searching for the Collection are actually looking for the skull itself.)</p><p></p><p>Then on FALCON CREST, a show where supernatural topicality might seem to "fit" more easily, I wouldn't really inject much of it into the narrative if only because it seems too obvious. I'd keep the show basically on the straight-and-narrow earthbound groove of murder mysteries, nazi treasure and spontaneous human combustion. Although the effects of nuclear waste buried under the vineyards would explain all the brain tumors, especially in Season 7, and even Melissa's hallucination that her baby was sired by Martians during an alien abduction -- which no one really believes -- probably never happened.</p><p></p><p>Did naturalistic KNOTS LANDING ever go there, even hinting at the supernatural (aside from that early haunted house episode which paid homage to Lilimae's THE HAUNTING experience)? It's hard to imagine it did, but I can't remember. </p><p></p><p>The only way to make this kind of material successful is, usually, to imply it. Have those supernatural elements develop in the background (if at all) where most of the characters are unaware of it, those who are aware of it tend to dismiss it as foolish, and even the characters most-willing to consider it find themselves ambivalent and unsure. Then, later, after the subject and plotline has been dropped, have the previous prognostications turn out to be <strong>absolutely</strong> <strong>true </strong>without the show ever overtly acknowledging it, leaving it to the more astute viewers to notice on their own.</p><p></p><p>So it's about balance. And what innately fits the show's identity.</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>"I predict <strong>another </strong>Capricorn/Aquarius Rising will also get dumped in a lake in <strong>her </strong>pilot episode three years from now...!"</em></p><p><em><img src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uQL7VBvtutM/S-Ei7Ba32jI/AAAAAAAAAEE/Qr6lZeamNhA/s1600/victoria_principal-11.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> </em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spooky Owl!, post: 368738, member: 57984"] Not sure I agree about that one. It's a brief moment, Pam is in an emotional quandary (and, hence, desperate) and getting the shakes. Bringing in supernatural elements to a show is tricky, and whether it works or not is a matter of balance. The tone has to match the personality of the show itself. I like the way DALLAS did Pam's trip to the psychic in 1984. There was a shrouded, hushed mood over the scene. It was all underplayed, and I'm not sure they even mentioned it again. That's why it worked. Less was more. Hint at the supernatural ... and then move on. Three years earlier, DYNASTY had a trip to a psychic -- Alexis in Rome with Adriana -- and, true to the series, it was far less subtle, and more hyperbolic like the show around it. And this [B]also [/B]worked, because DYNASTY was still good and hadn't yet stumbled... Later, they brought in another psychic to search for Steven, but the increasingly muddled flavor and structure of the series prevented it from coming off very effectively. (I'd push DYNASTY to the limit, myself, as many posters know: I'd have Krystle's headaches, courtesy of Alexis, turn Blake's second wife into a clairvoyant healer in Season 8 just shortly before leaving the show, played completely straight and camp-free, a tip of the hat to the old Obi-Wan Kenobi sentiment to Darth Vader that[I] 'if you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine'[/I].... And by the final Season 10, which never happened, Adam finds an ever-so-slightly glowing crystal skull amongst The Collection, quietly and dutifully delivering it to his mama, Alexis, and then mother-and-son gently prod Jeff for historical geologic information about such artifacts, unaware that "the Europeans" searching for the Collection are actually looking for the skull itself.) Then on FALCON CREST, a show where supernatural topicality might seem to "fit" more easily, I wouldn't really inject much of it into the narrative if only because it seems too obvious. I'd keep the show basically on the straight-and-narrow earthbound groove of murder mysteries, nazi treasure and spontaneous human combustion. Although the effects of nuclear waste buried under the vineyards would explain all the brain tumors, especially in Season 7, and even Melissa's hallucination that her baby was sired by Martians during an alien abduction -- which no one really believes -- probably never happened. Did naturalistic KNOTS LANDING ever go there, even hinting at the supernatural (aside from that early haunted house episode which paid homage to Lilimae's THE HAUNTING experience)? It's hard to imagine it did, but I can't remember. The only way to make this kind of material successful is, usually, to imply it. Have those supernatural elements develop in the background (if at all) where most of the characters are unaware of it, those who are aware of it tend to dismiss it as foolish, and even the characters most-willing to consider it find themselves ambivalent and unsure. Then, later, after the subject and plotline has been dropped, have the previous prognostications turn out to be [B]absolutely[/B] [B]true [/B]without the show ever overtly acknowledging it, leaving it to the more astute viewers to notice on their own. So it's about balance. And what innately fits the show's identity. [I]"I predict [B]another [/B]Capricorn/Aquarius Rising will also get dumped in a lake in [B]her [/B]pilot episode three years from now...!" [IMG]https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uQL7VBvtutM/S-Ei7Ba32jI/AAAAAAAAAEE/Qr6lZeamNhA/s1600/victoria_principal-11.jpg[/IMG] [/I] [/QUOTE]
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Dallas the TV series
Dallas - The Original Series
Worst Dallas storyline in the show's run
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