For this long Memorial Day weekend, I took the opportunity to view the first season of Knots Landing, which I purchased on DVD earlier this year during the WeLoveSoaps sale. I've watched very few episodes of this series, so I was going in with little or no expectations. What follows is my summary and thoughts about about the Dallas spinoff, which used to air on SoapNet.
The first season of Knots Landing, aired from December 27, 1979 - March 27, 1980 for a total of 13 episodes. Unfortunately only the first two seasons are available for purchase on DVD. I bought season two and eventually I will summarize that as well hopefully. Knots home time slot was Thursday nights at 10 pm. The principle performers who appeared in the opening credits (in alphabetical order) where James Houghton (as Kenny Ward), Kim Langford (as Ginger Ward), Michele Lee (as Karen Fairgate), Constance McCashin (as Laura Avery), Don Murray (as Sid Fairgate), Ted Shackleford (as Gary Ewing) and Joan Van Ark (as Valene Ewing). After the credits, Claudia Lonow who played Karen and Sid's oldest teenage daughter Diana was also listed. The first season is not very arced, though some plot points do get mentioned in one episode and followed through on later in the season. It is written in a way though that if one misses an episode there is no confusion, so it doesn't have the typical soap opera construction.
The main characters are or become friends who all live on the same cul-de-sac in California. In the first episode, Val and Gary are newly married and decide to move there as Miss Ellie (Gary's mother) bought the place for the couple. Gary and Val were involved as teenagers and had Lucy. They were having a second chance at love and wanted to get away from Dallas to find happiness. Lucy came to visit in one episode, but it was decided that Southfork was her home, so she went back to Texas. Val got a GED, and Gary went to work for Sid at his car dealership. Gary fought alcoholism, while Val had to deal with the demons of her past with her mother who turned her away making her lose custody of Lucy as a baby.
Kenny and Ginger were the youngest couple living on the cul-de-sac. Kenny was a record producer, while Ginger was a kindergarten teacher. Of all the women, she is the only one who has a full-tine job. In the pilot, Kenny slept with Sid's 18 year-old-daughter, and he flirted with most young women. That was not the only time Kenny was unfaithful, as Ginger was frustrated dealing with his music career. Ginger also dealt with a stalker. It was the mother of her first love, who had died due to joining the Marines are fighting in Vietnam. He didn't die right away, but he never would have gone into the military if she hadn't gotten an abortion. Ginger was 16 and her mother forced her to terminate a pregnancy, and she continued to live with the guilt.
Karen was Sid's second wife. They had three children together, and he had a daughter named Annie from his first marriage who came to visit in the pilot episode causing strife. Karen is a college graduate, but instead of working, she is involved in a lot of charity work. Karen is in her late 30s, and she had to deal with a pregnancy and miscarriage. This nearly broke them apart, as Karen didn't want to have a baby initially. Diana also started to date seriously, but before she had sex, she discovered her boyfriend stole from her father. That relationship ended. Sid owned Knots Landing Motors, and went from being a mechanic to a great businessman, though he still enjoyed working on cars. Though guest cast members tried to get them to stray on their house, Sid and Karen were the happy and committed couple on the cul-de-sac.
Laura and Richard Avery were college sweethearts. She dropped out of school before she graduated to put her husband through high school. They had one son together. Richard was a bit of an ambulance chaser, who always wanted to get ahead in business. In one episode, Richard had her go out with a former boyfriend, who had his way with her. In another, Laura back to the apartment of an artist thinking he would paint her, but instead he raped her. Laura was a bit naive, and didn't think the man would take advantage of her. Since there was a serial rapist, everyone thought she was attacked by that man, but it was really a "date rape". Thankfully, the guy who was attacking other women was caught in the act, as Laura destroyed the case against him due to lying about who raped her. The trouble wasn't over for Laura and Richard. By the end of the season, Richard was in serious debt. They may have had to move or file bankruptcy as he overspent. Laura decided to get a job to help them provide for their lifestyle, paying her father back with her new salary for saving their home. It seemed like finally Laura was going to be able to be a stronger force in her marriage and life.
Some things I noticed while watching this show. The women were the focus of the storytelling unlike Dallas. That said it felt like the women were subservient compared to the men, who seemed to be chauvinists. Perhaps that point of view comes from looking at an over 30 year old program with 2012 eyes. Of course, things like reel to reel recorders, record players, disco music, the cars and wardrobe make one remember when this show was produced.
I enjoyed watching the first season of Knots Landing. While it was slightly slower in speed than more recent programs, it was entertaining. There were a few situations that seemed outdated (like the motorcycle gang on the beach harassing the women and the kids), but the pros outweigh the cons. If one has the time or inclination to read more about Knots Landing you can visit the official site. They have short summaries of each episode along with where are they now articles and many other goodies.
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