Hi all,
Thanks to You Tube and the DVD sets that have been released, I have spent the last month or so re-watching Dynasty. There are still a few episodes that I haven't seen, but, for the most part, I am basically caught up. As I was re-watching the show, there were so many things I saw that I would love to change. Some of them were specific storylines, some were off-screen events. Here, in no particular order, are the changes I'd most like to make if I could go back and be Aaron Spelling.
Off-Screen:
1. I would have done whatever I could to convince Pamela Sue Martin to stay with the show. I have nothing personal against Emma Samms and thought she did an adequate job with the role, but Fallon just wasn't the same after PSM left.
2. I would have never have created The Colbys. It weakened the structure of the show when Jeff and Fallon left. To me, the Blake/Krystle/Alexis dynamic was the focal point, but Jeff and Fallon were an integral part of the production and their absence hurt. I wouldn't have minded if they had added a couple of Jeff's relatives to the mix, but I think it would have been better if they had come to Denver instead.
3. I would have chosen another actress to play Ashley Mitchell. I'm not trying to be mean, but Ali MacGraw was horrible. Her acting was atrocious. In fact, she may have been the worst casting choice they made, and that's saying a lot when you consider some of the duds they had (Michael Praed, Helmut Berger, Karen Cellini, to name just a few).
4. I would have completely changed the reunion movie. There were too many loose ends from the 9th season that were never wrapped up and the whole consortium plot was horrible. No Dex. A fake Adam. Not many shows get a chance to wrap everything up and they should have done a better job with the opportunity. The saving grace for me was that we got to see Blake and Krystle reunited.
5. I would have hired someone to keep track of facts and information about the characters and their backgrounds. Parents' names, birthdays, etc... For example, the fact that Mark had two different middle names (how hard can it be to keep up with something like that?), that the circumstances surrounding Blake's mother's death changed. That kind of stuff. I'm a stickler for details and things like that just drive me crazy.
Plots and Storylines:
1. The UFO fiasco. It made the show a laughing stock.
2. Almost the entire 8th season. It was so boring, and I found the idea of Blake and Alexis running for governor silly. The writers should have focused more on the business and the relationships. There was hardly any romance b/w Blake and Krystle. It was such a waste, and I really can't blame Linda Evans for wanting out. As much as I missed her during the 9th season, it was almost more bearable than the 8th season. At least the plots were more interesting.
3. The return of Matthew Blaisdel. It would have been much more compelling if he'd been brought back more as Blake's equal who was hell-bent on destroying him than as some gun-toting psycho in search of his own utopia.
4. I would have let Blake and Krystle have at least one more child together. And a hell of a lot more romantic scenes. That was the main reason I watched the show, and, while they had some incredibly hot scenes together, there were never enough of them and they always ended way too soon. All that chemistry between them - they really should have taken better advantage of it.
5. The going back and forth as to whether or not Adam was really a Carrington. It should have been settled definitively, and as early on as possible.
Those are just the first things that came to mind. I'm sure I'll think of lots of others after I post this. And my apologies if this has already been discussed. I've gone through the archives, but I really can't remember who has said what and when it was said. I'd love to hear what changes the rest of you would have made if you could go back.
