“Dynasty” Fondly Remembered

Marlena’s been a little blue lately. Whenever trouble strikes, I tend to turn to my two favorite pastimes, soaps and journalism.

So how did the CW network know something was up with me? I adore their new Monday night nostalgia show “TV We Love” which featured in its first two weeks “I Love Lucy” and “Happy Days.”  This week–how did they know—CW offered a full hour episode about the over-the-top nighttime soap we all loved from 1981-1989. Welcome back, “Dynasty!”

The show was produced by the great Aaron Spelling and created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. It coincided with the Ronald Reagan administration, the Gay Pride movement, and an era in which everything–fashion, disco dancing, and especially daytime soaps–was way over the top. “Dynasty” was a primetime soap opera with a huge following and even bigger budget.

“Dynasty” of course was the story of the megarich Carrington family of Denver, headed by oil magnate Blake (played by John Forstythe) who married his lovely secretary Krystle (played by Linda Evans) at the start of the series. “Dynasty” was interesting in its first season, but really took off in season two, when Blake’s first wife Alexis (the phenomenon known as English actress Joan Collins) came to Denver. There was instant conflict between Alexis and Krystle that dominated most of the show over the rest of its history.

Enter stage left. Marlena at that exact point in the early eighties graduated from editing soap magazines to writing three columns a week about daytime, primetime and the then new cable medium for United Features Syndicate which went to hundreds of newspapers all over the country. When “Dynasty” premiered (as a competitor to CBS’ “Dallas”) I was given the full-time nighttime soap and miniseries beat. How exciting it was to interview TV icons like “Dynasty” executive producer Aaron Spelling, a genius with a friendly folksy demeanor. I  interviewed him again when he helmed daytime’s  “Sunset Beach.”  I was even given long interviews with the great Joan Collins, one of the smartest women I have ever talked to, and Linda Evans, who was beyond lovely and sweet. For “Dynasty” I also interviewed the very handsome John James, who played Jeff Colby, and Susan Scannell, who played Nicole Simpson Colby. I also talked to costume designer Nolan Miller, who had a $35,000 a week budget to dress the women on the show. His outrageous and very renowned fashions were a show unto themselves.

And oh my, was there ever a cross over between daytime soaps and “Dynasty!”  The late Wayne Northrop, who played Roman Brady on “Days of Our Lives,” played Carrington chauffer Michael Culhane, who had an affair with Fallon Carrington, played by Pamela Sue Martin. Al Corley played Steven, Blake’s gay son, a real breakthrough character for primetime in the eighties. When he left the show, he was replaced by Jack Coleman, fresh from playing Jake Kositchek the Salem Strangler on “Days of Our Lives.”  Another Carrington son Adam was played by Gordon Thomson, who had played Aristotle on “Ryan’s Hope.”  Alexis’ husband Dex Dexter was played by Michael Nader, who would join “All My Children” as Dimitri Marick. And when Fallon was recast after Pamela Sue Martin left, the new actress was our own Emma Samms who of course has played Holly Sutton on “General Hospital.”

Over the years, “Dynasty” was full of over-the-top ratings-grabbing storylines, many of them written by Eileen and Robert Mason Pollack who had worked on “The Doctors.”  The Pollacks downplayed the show’s original theme–which was Blake’s business–and according to Wikipedia  “bombarded viewers with every soap staple in the book presented at such a fast clip in the book that a new tragedy seemed to befall the Carrington family every five minutes.”

Who can ever forget the Moldavian Massacre which happened at the end of the fifth season? The royal wedding of Amanda Bedford, played by Catherine Oxenberg, and Prince Michael, played by Michael Praed, was interrupted during the ceremony by a massive terrorist attack. The episode drew twenty-five million viewers!

“Dynasty” was also memorable for its many catfights. The principal combatants were Krystle and Alexis, the show’s central characters. But there were others, too, between Alexis and Blake’s sister Dominique Deveraux, played by Diahann Carroll), and Sammy Jo, played by Heather Locklear, and Fallon. The “Dynasty” catfights became so famous, the press was invited to witness the filming of them.

Through Dynasty’s eight seasons the show was a must see for soap opera and camp lovers alike.  But as the Reagan Administration had to come to an end at the end of the eighties, so did “Dynasty. “But not before it begat an ABC spinoff called “The Colbys” starring Charleton Heston.

The eighties were certainly a fertile time for nighttime soaps like “Dallas,” “Dynasty,” and “Falcon Crest. These shows were bigger than life–and so much plain fun to watch.

And so much fun to cover in the ever wacky momentous  world of soap journalism. Marlena can never be blue with memories like these!