Dynasty

Dynasty was in its heyday when I was in high school, so it was inevitable that we'd grow up together. Originally conceived to take on the CBS juggernaut Dallas, the show originally focused on the ultra-rich Carringtons, the middle-class Blaisdels, and the link between them, secretary-turned-socialite Krystle. After half a season, however (it was a mid-season replacement), the creative team decided to take the show in a different direction. They also brought in Joan Collins as Alexis Carrington. Originally intended only to appear in a few episodes, Alexis became such a hit with the viewers that the character quickly became central to the action.

The show, early in its run, was at its best when it nodded to classic Hollywood. The Steven-Claudia storyline, for example, was Dynasty's riff on the film Tea and Sympathy, and the sheer opulence of the show (and some of Claudia's crazier moments) were straight out of Sunset Boulevard. The writing was sharp, incisive, and not afraid to be funny. A brief implosion late in the second season got rid of half the cast, but one role (Steven) was recast, and another (Sammy Jo) would return sporadically for a couple of seasons before finally returning full-time. By the time the show had four seasons under its belt, it was a solid top ten hit that actually showed a lot of quality as the writers tackled then-borderline taboo topics such as abortion and homosexuality.

Then it started to go wrong.

The first blow was the departure of Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon, and the subsequent miscasting of Emma Samms in the role. Worse, the writing took a significant turn for the worse, and Samms had the double handicap of trying to compete against the memory of Martin and having distinctly inferior scripts to work with. Next, whereas previous cliffhangers had involved danger to one or two characters apiece, starting with the infamous fifth season cliffhanger, the producers decided that the majority of the cast had to be endangered in every cliffhanger - the Moldavian massacre, the fire at La Mirage, the siege of the Carrington mansion - which strained credulity to the breaking point. Once-promising characters, like Dominique and Leslie, were marginalized to the point of invisibility and eventually jettisoned with little fanfare.

Worst of all, the writers began to ape ratings bonanzas from previous seasons without seeming to understand why they worked in the first place. Krystle and Alexis' first catfight, for example, came at the end of slowly-increasing tension between the two over the course of the second season. Towards the end of Dynasty's run, the catfights had become almost ubiquitous, as if the writers felt that they weren't doing their job if they didn't include one every season, regardless of whether the scenes made sense from a storytelling standpoint.

The show enjoyed a brief renaissance in its final season, largely due to the addition of Stephanie Beacham to the cast, but with Linda Evans leaving the show in the middle of the season, it was more or less doomed at that point - the triumvirate of Blake-Krystle-Alexis, once broken, could not be repaired or replaced.

All in all, though, Dynasty was a pleasant way to spend an hour every Wednesday (later Thursday), and I'm glad I got to know the Carringtons.

Where else can you find the bitchiest 50 year old, dressed in the most extravagant gowns of all time? Sounds like the perfect show to me! Yes, Dynasty was without a doubt that one show that basically encouraged fans to sit back, put up their feet and watch how these "rich bastards" are living! No other show, not even the ultra popular Dallas, could take fantasy to that level. The show made you feel as though you too could be a Carrington living in a mansion and drinking champange. The "storylines" or perhaps lack of, left plenty of room to emphasize what audiences really wanted to see: sex, power, vanity and the most expensive jewels in all the world! This is Dynasty and the 80s at its very best!

My name is Goran Markovic, I'm a 35 years old professor from Serbia. My life consists of various activities but through out the years I kept a special place in my heart for Dynasty. It is my connection to the past, time when I was growing up, finding out about the facts of life, when I was exchanging impressions on Dynasty with some great people, and today, we still share memories of our favorite characters and events. I hope you learned a lot about me, my thoughts about Dynasty through Ultimate Dynasty site. But memories are something personal, hidden deep within us, and I wanna share a part of it with Dynasty fans world wide.

In 1984, when the news of broadcasting Dynasty in Serbia was announced, there was a lot of commotion because the communist government thought the show will have a negative influence on the nation by spreading capitalistic ideas with the story about wealth and luxury and this way destabilize the communist regime. It only made the nation more intrigues and with a lot of dust, Dynasty began airing. I remember sitting with my parents and my sister at our home when the first episode was on. No one said a word until its end. It was a beginning of a ferry tale in my the live of my family but also, the beginning of incredible euphoria in all country. It was the most popular show for years, and I couldn't face missing an episode.

Years went by and my country and the surrounding area was struck by war, bombarding and terror, communists fell, now my country lives in freedom with hope of a better life ahead, and all this time Dynasty was a refuge from problems, difficulties of every day's life. The show especially marks the period when I went to school to another city. Season 4 was on, I was in the dorm. We stayed awake even after our bad time because the show aired in late hours and my roomies and I watched it in secrecy sop that our teachers wouldn't catch us. We stayed awake 'till morning, talking about events and characters.

My imagination went wild, I pretended to be one of the characters, I imagined I was in the Filoli mansion, checking its every corner. The world of Carrington's was my world. It is still my great wish to visit America, meet some of the actors, visit the Filoli mansion. I spend years collecting pictures and episodes of the show. I almost have all Dynasty and the Colbys episodes taped, and it was time to create and present this site to you which is my all time wish coming through.

The memories today are still very much vivid and alive, I share them with my family, friends, fans. Dynasty is my dream and my reality.

Sincerely, Goran Markovic

Dynasty was a huge favorite of myself and my friends, and I have many memories of discussing the show with them either over the phone as it was happening or the next day. The Carringtons were created to compete with the highly successful Dallas and Ewings of South Fork, but Dynasty was never a copycat show. While Dallas certainly focused on the soap opera elements common to all these programs, J.R.'s sliminess in business was a focal point. Dynasty was about obvious, over the top luxury and family with some camp elements included that made it special. What I loved about Dynasty was that, at least in the beginning, it was never camp for camp's sake - the camp was part of the show. For instance, when the casting of Fallon changed, the portrait of the old Fallon that hung over the fireplace was quietly replaced with a painting of the new one, Emma Samms, that looked like a paint by the numbers from Woolworth's. And of course, Joan Collins' Alexis had camp built right into the character. And there was Steven's plastic surgery...so many happy moments.

And no other show could boast the wardrobe of Dynasty, or the beauty of Linda Evans. I can still see her, bedecked in diamonds, walking toward Blake in a blue gown slit all the way up her thigh.

For me, once they had Alexis disguised as a nun and the whole Moldavian thing started, the show became self-conscious camp, as these shows often do, and I lost interest. But certainly Dynasty was a bright spot in the '80s and for a time, you couldn't beat it.

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.