Vote for why you think it jumped
Never Jumped
Exit...Stage Left (Abby)
Death (Laura)
Day One
Writers Lynn Latham and Bernie Lechowick depart
Shark Bytes
The show jumped the shark when Linda Fairgate was killed, Paige was dating that cute guy that suddenly turned into a psycho and Gary lost his fake looking oil company(never liked Gary. He should have done right by Lucy).
I thought Michelle Phillips was fabulous, but was not used to her full potential as a 'replacement' of sorts for Donna Mills. Then Val was thought for dead, Greg was between Anne and Paige...oh and I didn't care for the appearance of Greg's sister, Claudia, or that strange British chick that was a friend of Kate's. She had really bad teeth. The finale was good though. It was nice to see Donna Mills again.
I thought Michelle Phillips was fabulous, but was not used to her full potential as a 'replacement' of sorts for Donna Mills. Then Val was thought for dead, Greg was between Anne and Paige...oh and I didn't care for the appearance of Greg's sister, Claudia, or that strange British chick that was a friend of Kate's. She had really bad teeth. The finale was good though. It was nice to see Donna Mills again.
The show jumped the shark when Peter Dunne was succeeded as producder by Lynn Marie Latham and Bernard Lechowick. The only highlight after they took over was the episoders dealing with Laura's death, which not coincidentally was the last time Knots used the great ensemble style of storytelling that made it so compelling from 1983 through 1986.
Latham/Lechowick sanctified Karen and Mack by writing them in their own holy image and making them terminally dull. They totally ruined Val by turning her into a nutcase. They also turned Greg into a cardboard character. Their piecemeal approach to storytelling meant that many of the main characters barely interacted with each other. With the exception of Anne and Paige, all of their attempts to introduce new characters failed miserably. Then there was their highly irritating cross cutting style of writing which they overused WAY too much.
The only character they did write well for was Abby.
So it was a fairly long jumping of the shark, and there were a few okay stories and certainly some tense cliffhangers (although Abby burrying Peter in cement must surely be a candidate for most prominent shark jumping ever?), but the Latham/Leckowicks abandoned the ensemble style, removed the emotional angle and ruined most of the characters.
Latham/Lechowick sanctified Karen and Mack by writing them in their own holy image and making them terminally dull. They totally ruined Val by turning her into a nutcase. They also turned Greg into a cardboard character. Their piecemeal approach to storytelling meant that many of the main characters barely interacted with each other. With the exception of Anne and Paige, all of their attempts to introduce new characters failed miserably. Then there was their highly irritating cross cutting style of writing which they overused WAY too much.
The only character they did write well for was Abby.
So it was a fairly long jumping of the shark, and there were a few okay stories and certainly some tense cliffhangers (although Abby burrying Peter in cement must surely be a candidate for most prominent shark jumping ever?), but the Latham/Leckowicks abandoned the ensemble style, removed the emotional angle and ruined most of the characters.
I definetly think when Donna Mills(Abby)left The show it didnt have a chance to top the ratings they had when she was there my girl abby was the best at what she did my favorite by fat
I always thought the show was boring. Dallas was a superior show in my opinion and Dynasty was better (during its first five years). I just thought the show lacked excitement. It did stay on one more year than Dallas but Dallas had more episodes as a whole (both shows sucked their last few years).
When I think of jumping the shark, I don't think of an implausible storyline here and there (Karen being kidnapped, Val losing her memory, Claudia bribing a hospital for Greg's liver, Cathy Geary and Ciji being lookalikes), or some half-baked character coming on for a season or two (Peter O'Rourke, Claudia, Val's 3rd or 4th husband the rapist, et al) as these events never really amounted to anything that kept the show from losing its focus. Knots Landing jumped the shark a few times but always regained lost ground. The first time it jumped the shark was when it basically elminated any storylines related to the Fairgate children, who were all attractive, believable and natural actors that the Knot's audience related to and was interested in.
The second time it jumped the shark, and its worst instance of doing so was when Laura Avery was written off the show. And Laura was Val's best friend, not Karen. It was shocking to the Knots fans. Most of her cancer, dying, death storyline was handled with immense sensitivity and the effect her death had on the main characters was good for the show as it brought them all back together briefly, even if they squabbled here and there.
I am surprised that the other bloggers here have such negative comments about the Paige Matheson character. I can remember how well-liked she was by the audience, and she was one of the main reasons why the show kept going despite T
he departure of Abby, which was the second time the show jumped the shark. Nicollette Sheridan ably assisted the writers in keeping the audience reigned in and watching. And besides, we all knew Donna Mills would come back to the show anyway, unlike Constance McCashin who played Laura Avery.
The show had its ups and downs but it was certainly far better than the trashy soaps (Dallas, The Colby's, Falcon Crest, Dynasty et al), as well as its time slot competitors LA Law, and Hill Street Blues, which really were soap operas for the yuppies' set. Knots Landing had class,style, with and grace, and sex and trash here and there, and fabulous actors. It just was one of those shows that didn't get any accolades until it's last season when the press paid attention to it. The show itself and its writers, directors, producers, and talent were woefully underrated. It did not receive one Emmy nomination in its entire 14-year run.
The second time it jumped the shark, and its worst instance of doing so was when Laura Avery was written off the show. And Laura was Val's best friend, not Karen. It was shocking to the Knots fans. Most of her cancer, dying, death storyline was handled with immense sensitivity and the effect her death had on the main characters was good for the show as it brought them all back together briefly, even if they squabbled here and there.
I am surprised that the other bloggers here have such negative comments about the Paige Matheson character. I can remember how well-liked she was by the audience, and she was one of the main reasons why the show kept going despite T
he departure of Abby, which was the second time the show jumped the shark. Nicollette Sheridan ably assisted the writers in keeping the audience reigned in and watching. And besides, we all knew Donna Mills would come back to the show anyway, unlike Constance McCashin who played Laura Avery.
The show had its ups and downs but it was certainly far better than the trashy soaps (Dallas, The Colby's, Falcon Crest, Dynasty et al), as well as its time slot competitors LA Law, and Hill Street Blues, which really were soap operas for the yuppies' set. Knots Landing had class,style, with and grace, and sex and trash here and there, and fabulous actors. It just was one of those shows that didn't get any accolades until it's last season when the press paid attention to it. The show itself and its writers, directors, producers, and talent were woefully underrated. It did not receive one Emmy nomination in its entire 14-year run.
This show jumped when the writers stopped focusing on the Cul-de-sac households (as individual episodes pretty much) and became glossy soap. Don't get me wrong, I watched every single episode including the last few seasons which were lame. When the writing got weak it was time to pull the plug. A real shame.
Never jumped, but did have two of the most annoying characters ever on television. LilliMae and Diana Fairgate. Diana's hair alone was enough ruin any scene. Donna Mills and Constance McCashin were two of the best actresses on tv at the time and made up for all the poor Val crap.
There was no jumping the shark on KNOTS. It was the best of the nighttime soaps.
My favorite 2 scenes were:1) when Gary finally realizes how awful Jill is and tells her he can't stand anything about her -- the way she walks, talks,speaks, breathes, smells, etc. (I've uses lines like that myself!) 2) when we are viewing Gary's "funeral" and the viewer sees him in a black turtle neck outfit actually contemplating what was going on. That was quite startling!
My favorite 2 scenes were:1) when Gary finally realizes how awful Jill is and tells her he can't stand anything about her -- the way she walks, talks,speaks, breathes, smells, etc. (I've uses lines like that myself!) 2) when we are viewing Gary's "funeral" and the viewer sees him in a black turtle neck outfit actually contemplating what was going on. That was quite startling!
Knot's never jumped until that dreadful 13th season when Latham and Lechowick abandoned it -- though that season did give us Marcia Cross as "Victoria." I thought she was awesome. Too bad that the storyline had to involve Bruce Greenwood as "Pierce."
Prior to that, of course there were bad storylines. Jill Bennett got real tired, it is true. But the worst character ever was Jean Hackney. Remember her? When Ben had to kill Greg? I didn't think I'd ever survive that storyline.
However, a few bad storylines don't mean a show has jumped. That doesn't happen until a show loses its soul, which in this case was when the original writers left.
Prior to that, of course there were bad storylines. Jill Bennett got real tired, it is true. But the worst character ever was Jean Hackney. Remember her? When Ben had to kill Greg? I didn't think I'd ever survive that storyline.
However, a few bad storylines don't mean a show has jumped. That doesn't happen until a show loses its soul, which in this case was when the original writers left.
I watched EVERY SINGLE EPISODE OF THIS SHOW for 15 or 16 years!Yes,I had a life.I loved every minute of it.Anyone remember when Val suddenly went beserk and her hair seemed to follw her mental state.When Sid died eraly on,I watched that episode three times and it made me teary-eyed every time.Michelle Lee was by faaaaar the best actress here and the character of Abby the most fun to watch.Better than it's parent Dallas and lasted longer!
As a man, I watched Knots Landing furtively, because most guys don't like to admit they watch soaps. Granted, Knots was the only soap I ever watched. And one of the main reasons for watching it was so I could drool over Abby. Man, I wanted her so bad!!! She aged wonderfully, she was a blonde bombshell, and nobody could outfox her. When Abby moved to Japan, that was it for me. True, Nicolette Sheridan was still there, and Lar Park-Lincoln was brought aboard. Two stunningly beautiful young women, but it didn't matter - I still yearned for Abby. I stopped watching shortly after Abby's departure. But my memories of Abby live on! I don't think there was a hotter gal on any TV show, ever.
Every show jumps the shark, come on. This show is one of 5 to last 14 years. Killin goff Laura was a big mistake, yet made Connie McCashin a star and gave "Knots" its finest two-part moment. Some say it jumped when Sid Fairgate died, but marriages do end by the death of a partner, and that was its second finest moment. When Abby left, well, she was replaced by several lesser but still somewhat effective villainesses. I say wow. Yes, season 13 was mediocre at best, but "Knots" by then had surpassed "Dallas," "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest." That is endurance. It was TV's best show for many of its 14 years and 344 episodes.
The murder of Linda Fairgate. I'm rewatching late season 12 episodes on Soapnet right now and it's clear that, by this point, corporate-climber Linda Fairgate had become the lifeblood of Knots Landing. She owns every scene in which she appears and has fantastic chemistry with Bill Devane, Michele Lee, and Nicollete Sheridan. Throughout season 12, Linda became a fascinating character, a complex villainess that embodied both Karen's sanctimonious tendencies and Abby's knack for troublemaking, all of which Lar Park Lincoln served up with a knowing, hypocritical twist and a flair for doublespeak. It's too bad, then, that the new season 13 producers killed Linda off within three episodes of taking over. Knots shut down production midway through season 13 when it became apparent these people didn't know what they were doing and were wrecking the show. After retooling, Knots got back on track, but since Linda Fairgate had been killed off, the show was left without its last brilliant bitch. Linda could (and would) have carried Knots on her able shoulders into the mid-to-late 90's, but was never given the chance. RIP Linda Fairgate and RIP Knots Landing, the best television program of all time.
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