There is much I could write about DYNASTY mainly because the program's first season was so haphazard that there is much to complain about….and much to praise. To put it bluntly, if not for the addition of Joan Collins to the cast this program would have been cancelled because she single handily saved the show by creating one of the most memorable television characters of all time. I am not 100% sure if this series was originally designed as a rip-off of DALLAS mainly because DALLAS was not a huge hit when it first debuted in 1978 and DYNASTY did not go into production until 1980. (Which would mean it was developed and green-lighted while DALLAS was still in its infancy) KNOTS LANDING did debut in 1979 and was a ratings success so the need to expand the (now lost) art of the prime time one hour soap opera was expanded. (FALCON CREST and others would debut and draw strong ratings in the 1980's as well….and ALL of these soaps would suffer painful declines until their eventual cancellation) Unlike DALLAS, DYNASTY would – like KNOTS LANDING – greatly change as its season progresses although it did not change anywhere near as drastically as KNOTS which started out as a romance type series and then evolved into a more crime oriented series. (Then again, the writing on some of the romantic dialogue was a crime) But, if there were any similarities between DYNASTY and DALLAS the main one would be, of course, the fact that the series centered on a wealthy families trials and tribulations in the oil business. (Ironically, the original name of BOTH series was OIL) There is NO WAY the television industry today would create a show around the oil industry that portrayed those in charge of the business as anything other than evil villains. Yes, there were a number of evil oil villains in DYNASTY and DALLAS, but there were also characters who were considered sympathetic and noble. In DALLAS, Jock Ewing's success as an oil man was considered the pinnacle of the American dream. There is no way such a person would be portrayed positively as most television programs today seem to fall into a certain lockstep of similarity.

But, when it comes to DYNASTY the characters that originally permeated the series in the first season really paled in comparison to DALLAS. Blake Carrington was no JR. Where JR was multidimensional, cunning and charismatic…Blake Carrington is DULL. Yes, JR was conniving but he was driven. Carrington lacks the motivation of JR. This is why George Peppard dropped out of the role of Blake after initially being selected. He found the character to be beneath his dramatic dignity. (He would later go on to star in the neorealist masterpiece THE A-TEAM) There are a number of things that would initially harm John Forsythe's portrayal of Blake in Season One: the character was neither hero nor villain nor anti-hero – he was dull; supporting actors Bo Hopkins and Dale Robertson completely upstaged him; and the serious tone of the program was often undermined by awful dialogue. The latter aspect of this is heightened more by the serious tone of the series. Yes, DYNASTY would achieve its greatest success as a super campy series but the first season was designed to be a serious look at the complexities of the Carrington dynasty. But when Fallon pulls out a joint and her boyfriend says "What if the authorities come by?" and she responds by saying "Oh, I brought enough for everyone" drama just jumped out a window.

More on DYNASTY – including some of its positives – as I continue to watch the DVDs.