Spring of ´84. The rivalry between the supersoaps
gets to one of its highpoints. To beat the Texan
series, the producers from the DARK SIDE attract stars
about to disappear thru offering them the secret of the
eternal youth, thanks to plastic surgery and NOLAN MILLER
gowns. The menace still is on...
- DYNASTY: At
CARRINGTON´s, they begin to run away: after AL CORLEY, PAMELA
SUE MARTIN quits and ends the season with a
mysterious car accident of her character FALLON, who´s just
seen crying out before to supposedly crash into a
truck. This end would obviously inspire the DALLAS
writers for killing PAM out. Other cliffhanger subplots
were ALEXIS being jailed for having killed her ex
lover MARK JENNINGS, KIRBY leaving after divorcing ADAM
and glamorous DOMINIQUE (D. CARROLL) making her
entrance, the only major black character in supersoap
history...(along with KL´s FRANK).
- FALCON CREST: As the
only way to renew or die, the series took the whole
cast to the edge of death, as a way to write them out,
especially those unbearable and hard to take (as lawyer
PHILLIP (M. FERRER), CHASE´s cousin, MICHAEL (C. ROBERTSON)
or COLE´s wife, LINDA (M.K. MCGEEHAN), all of them
boring to death and with no substance). Therefore, they
Were put in an plane and got it crashed...near
DENVER! Even ANGELA´s little baby grandson (the one who
looked like butler CHAO-LI) was on it...(Sadistic
writers!)
- KNOTS LANDING: On one of its best and most
embroiled cliffhangers, KL presented GARY´s planned shot,
ending up with KAREN as a victim by mistake...ABBY was a
witness, incapable to do anything, kept hostage by hood
ST.CLAIR, as LAURA broke her engagement to GREG (W. DEVANE)
thanks to ABBY´s efforts. Writers got close to delirium
but always going back to the Californian cul-de-sac
presumed daily life, a mere alibi to commit the same
crimes than the other series, but all done with the best
possssible taste!!!!
- DALLAS: The EWINGS ended their
year 6 recycling Who Shot JR: this time BOBBY is the
victim, about to marry JENNA (P. PRESLEY), and apart from PAM by
a letter poisoned by wicked KATHERINE. ELLIE &
CLAYTON finally get married after surviving CLAY´s
psychosister, JESSICA MONTFORD (great ALEXIS SMITH). PAM leaves
DALLAS with her son after losing sick MARK in a plane
crash, a presumed suicide... Other suspects for having
shot BOBBY were CLIFF, once again ruined by JR, his
business rivals VAUGHN LELAND & EDGAR RANDOLPH, SUE ELLEN,
blackmailed by JR when he found about her affaire with PETER
RICHARDS (C. ATKINS), and others with fewer possibilities
but equally fed up with JR, as AFTON, HOLLY or
KATHERINE. The question is...did anyone really doubt about
who shot BOBBY...?
This was the last year
DALLAS reigned at the season´s end. Next year, it would be
beaten by DYNASTY. The show was touched but not sunk: on
that ending episode, BBG said goodbye to miss ELLIE
for a health problem, letting out a dilemma for the
producers: What to do with miss ELLIE, to kill her or change
her face instead? To counteract the negative effects
of the situation, LORIMAR renewed its look with a
new art director and a famed costume designer:
TRAVILLA. But was that enough? Next year, DYNASTY would hire
R. HUDSON & A. MCGRAW, and F. CREST, G. LOLLOBRIGIDA, A. ARCHER
& C. HOLM, as KL would rescue fine AVA GARDNER...But
who would become new miss ELLIE...?