Dynasty

I watched Dynasty from episode one and very rarely ever missed the Wednesday night saga of the Carringtons. Having recently purchased the DVD set of the first season, I've been giving the show a lot of thought... Like many other TV shows both past and present, Dynasty started without a clear focus and eventually matured into something unique and far removed from what the producers originally intended. The show had two distinct eras: pre-Alexis and post-Alexis. No, Joan Collins didn't make or break Dynasty, but she gave it a heck of a fun "flavor." At its inception, Dynasty was a serious, almost somber account of the lives of the super rich Carringtons of Denver, CO. There was patriarch Blake, confused son Steven, spoiled brat Fallon, and Blake's new and very overwhelmed wife, Krystle. Having now watched a little of that first season, I find myself eagerly waiting for Alexis to turn the family on its collective ear! Dynasty's ultimate strength, and also its downfall, was in its becoming campy and larger than life. While some of us may expect the super-wealthy to act crazy, Dynasty added plot lines and characters that were the traditional soap-opera themes magnified with a huge budget, and beautiful people... illicit affairs, long-lost children, traumatic pregnancies, murders, trials, etc... There were frequent mis-steps (the Moldavian Prince, Michael, comes to mind as well as the entire 'The Colbys' series) and there were truly fun characters like Alexis and son Adam whom we loved to hate. But to me, the bottom line will always be that Dynasty was campy and much larger-than-life. It was a lot of fun those eight years, always wondering what would happen next...

Although ABC's "Dynasty" really began as a response to the wildly popular "Dallas" on CBS, the show became so much more over its original U.S. run, from 1981 to 1989.

While "Dallas" had a bit of the earthy element of the ranch and the land and their value (think Miss Ellie) mixed in with the big-bucks oil industry, "Dynasty" was all glitz, all the time. After the show found its way during the first season, and Alexis arrived for the second, the characters went great guns in their portrayal of '80s capitalism and high living. We all wanted to watch. Maybe, in a way, we all wanted to live those lives. But would we, really? Hmmm ...

Being a chick, I enjoyed the **fashions** and the intrigue as I watched the show originally in the 1980s. I was a teen who hadn't yet experienced the big world out there yet, and I think the show appealed to a lot of people my age for that same reason. I'm thankful that the show has been released on DVD now, because I talked to so many fans over the years who desperately longed for the videos (back before DVD)!

When it was in production, I only began to watch Dynasty in the middle of the second season, the night of the big pillow fight, and I was hooked. VCR's were only a week away at that time and there was nothing like this sort of availability. Anyway, I later viewed the first season on FX in the mid 90's (I think) and wasn't very impressed with it at first, but I was taping them and decided to go back and see the occasional episode. May I say the first season not only grew on me, but it was its very best. No outlandish plots, both rich and "getting-by" classes were depicted as actual human beings. No suspension of disbelief, this was a very credible drama, only to later become a very INcredible circus! I was very well addicted to this circus, and it was very amusing and there were a lot of great lines, etc., not to mention the actors and actresses. I didn't like it when we were pummeled by the cast revolving door, so to speak, and upon Pamela Sue Martin's departure, I didn't think I was going to watch it anymore, but I thought, "what the hay! I didn't have anything special to do on Wednesday nights, anyway, so.....".

Very happy to hear there will be interviews with my two favorite Dynasty-ites, Pamela Sue Martin and Al Corley.

Fallon and Steven aren't number 1 and number 2 favorites, more like 1-A and 1-B Can't wait to get this - the digital transfer ought to be a stunner - I'm sure my two-year-old videos from SoapNet are fading just a little. Did I mention I taped all of these in slow speed?

Dynasty concerned the goings-on of a wealthy Denver, Colorado family, the Carringtons. While it was surreal, campy, and wayyyy out to the left of reality, it was still FUN. It still caught and kept your attention and left you wanting much more. John Forsythe's Blake Carrington was the family's patriarch, always seeming a little bit confused about what was going on. His lovely young wife, Linda Evan's Crystal, was always getting stuck in some kind of trouble. Joan Collins as Alexis was sheer delight! A campy witch who was always causing trouble. The cast was large and the stories grand and fun. I never missed an episode of Dynasty during it's original run. Not until I went to college during the 1987-88 season... What I wouldn't give to see it all again!

the duel between Linda Evans and Joan Collins. this is the basic memory about the competitor of "Dallas", trip in a dark and game of appearances world. its virtue - the science to give a special voice in the family of soap opera. the fine art of tension and mystery and evil and good intentions and nice portrait of rich people. and this fact did "Dinasty" a must see again for the fans of genre. so, a modern fairy tale. inspired. and charming.