Spring of ´86. The EWING EMPIRE begins to burn out
before the non-coordinated attacks of Serialoids...now
with the newest and worst: THE COLBYS:
-
DYNASTY: Knowing they had to profit the slight advantage
at last season´s ratings, SPELLING launches a
DYNASTY spin-off, THE COLBYS, as he squeezes out J.COLLINS
& L. EVANS, who´d play KRYSTLE´s common deadringer
RITA, too. The cliffhanger presented BLAKE, with no
mansion and ruined by ALEXIS, trying to strangle his ex
wife in front of KRYSTLE and BLAKE´s long-lost brother,
BEN (C. CAZENOVE). At the same time, a hopeless
CLAUDIA caused the fire of La Mirage hotel accidentally,
and all the other characters might die burnt
there...Wooden AMANDA and unspeakable SAMMY JO had a catfight in
the pool for CLAY´s (T. McGINLEY) love. Meanwhile,
DOMINIQUE broke her engagement to GARRET (K. HOWARD), her
daughter´s father, when she knew he had never been married, and
CARESS (K. O´MARA), ALEXIS´s sister, sends out an SOS
from a South America prison. Obviously, writers didn´t
forget anything...clichéd.
- FALCON CREST:
Nothing less than an EARTHQUAKE "cheered up" Tuscany
Valley on their 5th cliffhanger. Because of it, many
might be dead: ANGELA, her recovered daughter JULIA,
EMMA, her bodybuilding husband DWAYNE, LANCE, MELISSA,
ERIC (J. CALLAHAN), ANGELA´s stepson, RICHARD and his
new wife TERRY. As this happened, in San Francisco
CHASE went through a live-or-die operation after being
shot several times and MAGGIE feared the responsible
for that, her kidnapper JEFF (E. ALBERT) might come
back to take her away again. Schizophrenic lawyer
JORDAN (M. FAIRCHILD) and boyfriend GREG (S. MACORKINDALE)
were pointed with a gun by the PSYCHO himself and
RICHARD got to know the baby he fathered to late
CASSANDRA. The earthquake was just another chance to reset
things and getting rid of disturbing characters...Even
so the plot worked out well though its staging was
rather poor...
- THE COLBYS: In spite of the
empty glitter and the celebrities (B. STANWYCK,
C. HESTON, R. MONTALBAN & K. ROSS), the show just lasted one
more year and this was its first cliffhanger: JASON
accused of murder by wife SABLE, FALLON believed she was
pregnant with his ex lover MILES (M. CAULFIELD) and MONICA
(T. SCOGGINS)´s plane crashed after she found his boyfriend in
bed with another woman...The saving grace was only
the main theme by B. CONTI and C. HESTON´s efforts to
keep his toupé in its place...STANWYCK always looked
as if she casually was around...
-KNOTS LANDING: In the middle of a full
regeneration process (something usual here but NOT for its
rivals), writers ended this 7th year with KAREN´s
mysterious kidnap. Not yet divorced ABBY & GARY continue
their tumultuous relationships with GREG´s presumed
brother, PETER (H. BLOCK), and JILL (T. AUSTIN) each, as VAL
reacts violently when she learns about her husband BEN
(D. SHEEHAN) having an affair with CATHY. Besides, a fairly
good character appears: PAIGE, the secret daughter of
MACK and first love ANNE (ex singer M. PHILLIPS), and
OLIVIA, ABBY´s teenage kid, tries to go through her drug
addiction...
-DALLAS: Miraculously BOBBY shows up in PAM´s shower, not
long after her marriage to MARK. Has BOBBY
resurrected, is he a twin brother, a double or maybe...just a
dream? Back BBG as miss ELLIE, the show crowns its
golden age with a luxurious episode including a wedding,
2 bomb attempts (one at E. Oil), a fashion parade
with wicked ANGELICA (B. CARRERA), sentimentalism and
social awareness with handicapped TONY´s adoption by the
KREBBSES, and the mystery that BOBBY could not to be the
ONLY "resurrected" one: an old man called BEN STIVERS
(S. FORREST) might be JOCK EWING as well...Order: to get the
family EWING together, AT ANY PRIZE...
DALLAS
topped the supersoap ratings again, although the belief
was definitely lost...Life is a dream and a dream is
just a dream, but the supersoap world was light years
away from real world and bad times were coming for
all, except for the younger sisters: curiously KL & FC
wouldn´t get into a crisis yet...
Next season
would be focused on plots and major characters rather
than guest stars or trashy glitter. Even so it would
be very enjoyable to follow the ins and outs of KIM
NOVAK on F. CREST, as the Season´s Guest Stars´
Queen.