Watching the disappointing 1997 reunion movie, `Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-De-Sac' was strangely reminiscent of Peter Bogdanovich's totally misguided `Last Picture Show' sequel, `Texasville.' In both instances, short shrift was paid to many of the characters which made the original versions strong. (ie: Where WAS the Ellen Burstyn character from "Picture Show" in `Texasville'?)
The failure of the `Knots' reunion movie to bring back original cast members like John Pleshette, James Houghton and Julie Harris (along with the under-utilization of Kim Lankford, Claudia Lonow, Tonya Crowe and Patrick Petersen who did indeed return for confined cameos), was particularly irksome because so much screentime was given to `Knots Landing' cast members like Michelle Phillips and Stacey Galina who appeared in the show's later, waning years. (At least they had the sense not to invite back Kathleen Noone, who was an annoying, rather than compelling, villainess during the 1990-1993 seasons.)
It was like going to a high school reunion where the only people who attended were the ones you never bothered or wanted to know. Unfortunately, the storylines in this reunion (Mack's mid-life crisis, Val's relationship with the screenwriter, etc.) were incredibly lame and did not warrant the movie being stretched to two nights. I would like to believe that this reunion `was all a dream' and that a better one will be issued in a few years.
