Knots Landing

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.

"Knots Landing", for 14 years, was the greatest television experience ever. From December 27, 1979, until May 13, 1993, we followed the sudsy lives of our favorite characters. From Val and Gary's initial movie into the neighborhood, to Abby's arrival and her nonstop manipulations, to Laura's terminal brain cancer and the impact it had on everyone's lives, to the ultimate psycho Jill, it was all terrific entertainment. Not overly-glossy and implausible like other night-time soaps, "Knots" had a realism all it's own. It will be missed and remembered fondly.

Even though Dallas was much more popular, Knots Landing was a much stronger, more realistic, and better written show. First of all, shows like Dallas and Dynasty insulted viewers intelligence by constantly keeping a character and changing the actor. Remember how Barbara Bel Geddes turned into Donna Reed on Dallas, and then back again. Or how Jeff Colby went to bed with Pamela Sue Martin and woke up with Emma Samms on Dynasty. This is not Broadway where someone just takes over someone else's role. When Constance McCashin left Knots, did a new Laura come on...NO!...she died and we all cried. That's why Knots Landing was a far superior serial. For fourteen years, viewers were engrossed in these people's lives, because you felt like you knew them. The best characters on the show were Val and Abby. And they're friendship turned feud was riveting. It was actually Val who convinced Abby to move to Knots Landing early in Season 2 while they were on a picnic. And she grew a deep attachment to Abby's daughter, Olivia, mainly because she needed to fill the void left when J.R. took her daughter, Lucy, away from her. It was Val who comforted Abby when her ex-husband ,Jeff, stole her children. And it was Val, not their Aunt Karen, who was Brian and Olivia's second mom. All of this made it even more scandalous when Abby had an affair with Gary. These women lived across the street from each other, and cared about each other. But Abby wanted Gary. The best scene of the entire series is during the episode "China Dolls", when Val finally confronts Abby. The seconds when Val is walking across that street from her house to Abby's seem like hours. And when she opens that door and Abby comes down those stairs in that pink bathrobe...it was so HOT! When Val asks Abby if she is having an affair with her husband, she looks right in Val's eyes and says "I'm not saying we're having an affair, and I'm not saying we're not, I am saying I can have him anytime I want him". When Val slaps Abby in the face, Abby actually gives her a look like...I know I deserved that because I know what I'm doing is wrong, but I want Gary and I don't care, so I'll take the hit. You actually feel like your watching your neighbors fight. There are no women like this on television anymore. These ladies could act. Donna Mills makes Joan Collins look like a cartoon character. And Joan Van Ark makes Linda Evans seem like an empty vessel. The scenes between Val and Abby over the next few seasons continued to shine. Val finally gets her revenge by becoming pregnant with Gary's babies, who is now married to Abby. And then Abby makes a comment to Scott Easton saying that she wishes the babies were never born. The fact that Easton takes her seriously makes the way for the best storyline of the series, and it is when Abby finally comes to her senses that we see how she truly cares for Val. When Abby finds Val alone on the beach and tells her she knows where the babies are, Val immediately knows she is going to see her twins. If it would have been anybody else, she probably wouldn't have believed them. But Abby doesn't mess around. When Abby is driving Val to her babies, they are alone in the car together, and you can feel all the years of history these two women have together. They were once like family, then bitter enemies, but through it all they are still in each others lives. They may not like each other, but they KNOW each other very well! Years later, when Laura dies, Val and Abby hug each other, sharing the pain of losing someone so close to them. Even though they don't like each other, they are once again sharing a very intimate moment. When they hug, you can feel they are reaching out to each other, actually comforting each other. And when Jill tries to kill Val and everyone thinks she tried to kill herself, Abby genuinely seems devastated by the news. When Val gets out of the hospital, Abby confronts her in Karen's kitchen, offering to help her in any way she can. And she REALLY means it. And now having to deal with psycho Jill, Val realizes that Abby is not so bad after all. The dynamics between these two actresses was phenomenal and understated. While Karen may have served as the shows backbone, it was Val and Abby who gave the show life, and spice. Both characters added depth and layers to the show that are unfounded on any other soap. Joan Van Ark, as the passive-aggressive Valene, who manages to drag everyone into her dramas and make her problems seem like the greatest problems in the world. And Donna Mills, as Abby, the greatest bitch in the history of television. Joan Collins' Alexis, and later Heather Locklears' Amanda on Melrose Place, were nothing more than Abby wanna-be's. No other bitch in television history had the multi-layered humanity of Abby Fairgate-Cunningham-Ewing. Even though she was a schemer and a manipulator, she had morals. She loved her children, and she would hurt people to get what she wanted, but nothing they couldn't recover from. Mac Macenzie once said..."Abby doesn't kill, she gets even". And that about sums it up. How amazing for once to see a woman not be a victim, and not have to pay for not being a victim. Through all their fascinating story lines, Val and Abby seem most real when they are playing off each other. And their feuds were the most dramatic moments of the series. If there is ever another Knots Landing reunion, how nice it would be to see Val and Abby sit down together for a cup of tea, and reminisce about all the insanity they've been through together.

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...

When this show first premiered, many didn't give it a chance due to the fact that it was a spin off from the hugely popular Dallas. A lot of people didn't think that a show featuring the least known of the Ewing brothers, Gary, and his wife Val would last. However, it did last and boy did it ever. For fourteen years we saw the saga of the cul de sac and their various residents and the main reason that this show became great is the fact their was such great chemistry among the leads and that led to some great performances, especially from the woman who eventually became the lead, Michele Lee. Also, many of the stories, unlike most nighttime soaps, were based in reality. Subjects such as drug and alcohol addiction, colon cancer and rape were all covered in this show. But, perhaps the most dramatic change occurred several seasons after the show debuted when the Williamses, an African-American couple and their daughter, were introduced in 1987. This was at a time when many blacks were becoming upwardly mobile and this was just a reflection of that trend. This show definitely will always be fondly remembered by everyone.