Knots Landing

This spin off of CBS' DALLAS premiered midway through the 1979-80 season. KNOTS follows the lives of five families residing on an oceanside cul-de-sac in the town of Knots Landing, California. They are: Gary (Ted Shackelford) and Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark), a young remarried couple who move to the cul-de-sac to escape the pressures of living in Dallas (namely JR and the Ewing family), Sid (Don Murray) and Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee), the friendly neighbors whose marriage is on solid ground, Richard (John Pleshette) and Laura Avery (Constance McCashin), whose marriage is in dire straits even with a young son, and Kenny (James Houghton) and Ginger Ward (Kim Lankford), the newlyweds who have bought their first home in the cul-de-sac. The show crossed over with DALLAS in its' early years when JR and Bobby made occasional visits. Things were spiced up when Abby Cunningham (Donna Mills), Sid's younger sister moved in and managed to break up Gary and Val. Other characters included the smarmy politician-turned-businessman Greg Sumner (William Devane), who tangled with Abby and married Laura when Richard took off after being accused of murder. There was also Mack Mackenzie (Kevin Dobson), who would marry Karen when Sid was killed in an auto accident. Paige Matheson (Nicollette Sheridan), Mack's daughter, who tangled with Sumner, was a major character. One of the show's story lines included the birth of Gary and Val's twins that were stolen from her at birth. When Bobby Ewing died on DALLAS and Pam Ewing dreamt the whole season, KNOTS suspended its' crossover plots with the parent series, for fear that KNOTS viewers would think that the present season was all a dream as well. So while Bobby was alive on DALLAS, he remained dead on KNOTS.

So back in the 80s I would have never ever given Knots Landing a chance. But I started dating someone new who loved this show so I was stuck watching it. I actually gave in and looked forward to watching it. I was never one for soap opera type television. One of my favorite characters was Mack. I always enjoyed when Mack was an integral part of that particular episode, and he was always one the significant characters. Kevin Dobson didn't do a whole lot of acting after Knots went off the air, not sure why, everything Kevin has been in he has excelled and has greatly improved the series or has brought his characters to life. I am only writing this review because I had heard Kevin had passed away recently. Rest In Peace Kevin Dobson, one of the great ones in Hollywood.

This was undoubtedly the best TV series EVER!!! Great characters, great stories, witty scripts, fantastic acting, fantastic theme tune, the list is endless.

I watched all 344 episodes throughout the show's 14 year run (15 if you lived in the UK). I watched it grow from an average suburban series set in a Californian cul-de-sac to an international phenomenon that perhaps didn't reach the same heights as 'Dallas' or 'Dynasty', but make no mistake, this series had a devoted following all across the world - such was it's enduring appeal.

Who could forget the night Sid was driven off a cliff? Talk about a Cliffhanger!!! Who could not feel sorry for "Poor Val" when her babies were kidnapped at birth or when the evil Jill Bennett (played convincingly by Teri Austin) attempted to kill her by forcing pills down her throat? Add to that those heartbreaking scenes when Laura (played by the wonderful Constance McCashin) died of a brain tumour and 'Greggy' was left all alone to raise their child.

Then there were all those wonderfully complex stories involving all the cul-de-sac's residents united to fight against a common enemy. Wolfbridge? Treadwell? The list is endless. Knots had that unique ability to tell a good tale. It carried on telling such 'good tales' for 14 amazing years - never once really dipping in quality.

In the finale, Kevin Dobson told how it was a quality series - the type of quality that television needs. How right he was! Television didn't see such quality prior to the series' launch in 1979, and sadly it hasn't seen it since.

A fantastic production in a bygone era. The likes of which we will never see again...

Knots Landing has got to be one of the best shows ever to grace our TV sets. The show that started out as a spin off of another good show Dallas turned into a guaranteed hour of enjoyable tv. Yes the show had its good and bad episodes but you always knew you could look foward to seeing your favorite neighbors on the Cul-Da-Sac Seaview Circle. By far the greatest female character on the show was Karen Fairgate Mackenzie(Michele Lee), she was married to the 2 greatest men ever Sid Fairgate(Don Murray) the owner of Knots Landing Motors and after his death she met and married Mack Mackenzie(Kevin Dobson)a lawyer. I enjoyed these two together most, they had such great chemistry together on screen they actually were believable as a married couple. When Abby(Donna Mills) arrived the show became even better, her character was always after someones husband and usually ended up with him. Sumner(Bill Devane) was another great addition to the show, his character brought a comic humor with the words he chose to use in tense drama situations. Then you had the Val(Joan Van Ark) and Gary(Ted Shackelford) the two childhood lovers who you just knew would always be together even if a few marriages got in between them. The show also had some other great characters like Laura(Constance McCashin), Richard (John Pleashette), Paige(Nicolette Sheridan), Lilimae(Julie Harris), Claudia(Kathleen Noone), Anne(Michelle Phillips), Frank(Lary Riely), Olivia(Tonya Crowe). Knots also had a ton of guest stars like Ava Gardner, Alec Baldwin, Lisa Hartman Black, Red Buttons,and Pam Grier just to name a few. Overall this show still holds up to todays standards and hopefully it will be put on DVD soon so everyone can enjoy it.

I grew up with this show and watched it the entire run.So much better and alittle more down to earth then the other shows, Knots was a show with Great characters and characters you either loved or loved to hate. I wish they'd bring it back for more Movie specials.