Pioneers of Television (2008–…): Season 3, Episode 2 - Primetime Soaps - full transcript
She says, "Always
hang up your costumes
and know your lines
and stay reasonably sober."
Well, I did two of 'em.
I think I was
somewhat responsible
for the shoulder pads.
What?
I think it was the first time
that knock-down, drag-out fights
between two women had been
seen on television.
Sometimes we're... whoosh...
Right into the soap.
And that's when somebody
in the room, again, said,
"Well, let's shoot
somebody."
And the obvious choice was,
"Let's shoot JR."
The character was
a beautiful character
that I think people trusted.
They created
the characters we loved
and hated.
Everyone in the world has
a jerk like JR in the family.
I'm going to bring Bobby down.
I'm going to cut him out,
if I have to
destroy Ewing Oil to do it.
A father, an uncle, a brother
or a cousin, or somebody
who asserts authority
and is a jerk.
And everybody
can identify with that.
He was so evil
and yet so vulnerable at times,
so sexy, and you hated him.
You're not a human being,
you're scum!
Edgar, I know how you feel,
but it's not going to
change the way things are.
Now, don't make it hard
on yourself.
I'm really a nice fella,
when I get what I want.
They embodied
a generation's aspirations
and excesses.
A saga of people
who could actually wear,
maybe, tiaras.
And it was all about oil!
Oil and "get rich."
It was a magical time
in U.S. history.
It was the oil embargo,
Reagan was president,
it was all macho swagger.
They were larger than life
and over the top.
Ow!
She came up to me and said,
"That felt so real.
Did you mean it?"
And I said, "No, darling,
it was acting."
When someone walked in and said,
"Do you like my new ring?
It cost $187 million
and we just picked it out,"
I'd think,
"That was 'Dynasty.""
I hope we meet again,
Ms. Deveraux.
Oh, we will,
Mr. Carrington,
believe me.
They represented an ideal
and set the trends for a nation.
If you look
at the actors in "Dynasty,"
they were the best-looking
bunch of actors
that I've ever seen in a show,
better than "Dallas."
The guys were guys and,
you know, they were cowboys,
and the women were
gorgeous Dallas ladies,
all of them gorgeous,
look like former Miss Dallas,
every single one of them.
Well, it didn't take you
very long to find him, did it?
He found me.
But, then, I knew him
first, didn't I?
Uh, ladies,
I don't think this is
the proper place
for an argument.
No matter what you call them,
these television series ranked
among the most popular ever.
I have no problem saying
"Dallas" was a nighttime soap.
That's what it was.
Well, I never liked
the term "soap."
I thought it was
a nighttime drama.
I don't know really
where it falls...
Drama or cartoonish
or whatever...
But it carved a place in
history, that's for sure.
Together, they created
some of television's
biggest hits.
They are
the "Pioneers of Television."
November 21, 1980.
As 10 P.M. approached,
the nation shut down.
Restaurants closed early,
shopping malls emptied out,
meetings were cancelled.
Across America and the world,
only one question
seemed important...
"Who shot JR?"
That was a big deal.
The entire world wanted
to know the answer.
And it took us to a level
that most actors
never get to experience.
It was so huge!
It was the longest summer ever.
The "Dallas" TV series
had already been a runaway hit.
But then the show's producers
came up with an idea
that would trigger
a worldwide obsession.
And that's when somebody
in the room again said,
"Well, let's shoot somebody."
And the obvious choice was,
"Let's shoot JR.
Everybody wants
to do it anyway."
And that's how it happened.
So they shot JR, he collapses
on the floor...
That iconic shot of him
lying on the floor.
Who's there?
The shooting
took place in the final scene
of the third season.
The producers of "Dallas"
had just invented
the primetime TV cliffhanger.
For the next eight months,
the world speculated about who'd
shot TV's biggest villain.
The episode that finally
revealed the answer
would send the ratings higher
than anything
television had ever seen...
Numbers that even beat
the Super Bowl.
People were having "Dallas"
parties and so forth.
It was just a strange
phenomenon.
I really don't get it.
They were betting on it
in Vegas.
Everything stopped...
when we found out who shot JR.
So, when the shooter
was revealed...
Kristin, Sue Ellen's sister.
I have finally figured
everything out, that's all.
You have been trying
to frame me.
Oh, you're crazy.
It was you, Kristin,
who shot JR.
Kristin, it was you who shot JR.
The seeds of
the "Dallas" phenomenon
were planted in 1978 when
the series premiered on CBS.
The original story line focused
on Bobby and Pam,
young lovers from opposing
families...
Rich Texas oil families.
Bobby and Pam were sort of like
Romeo and Juliet,
the Montagues and the Capulets
getting married,
you know, going, it's that old
Shakespearean story just retold.
Your folks are going to
throw me right off that ranch.
Relax, honey,
you're my wife now.
You're family.
You are a Ewing.
And once that sinks in,
they're going to
love you like I do.
Before it sinks in
is what worries me.
Relax, sweetheart,
everything's gonna be fine.
Originally, the show was
"Romeo and Juliet."
It was Bobby and Pam,
the Montagues and Capulets,
and all the big...
If that would have been
the follow-through premise,
we'd have been down
in two years.
"Dallas" didn't become
popular until a villain emerged.
There were plenty of candidates.
The first script I read,
everybody was a scoundrel.
Even Mama, in her own way,
was a scoundrel.
And over the period
of five or six shows
that we did the pilot, you know,
the miniseries,
it kind of narrowed down to me,
which was fun.
Larry rose to the fore,
which was not intended
in the original premise
of the show.
But he found something in there
that fit him like a glove.
And from day one when we saw
that happening,
the rest of the cast went, "Yes!
This is gonna be great,"
because we rode his coattails
for 13 years.
Because he was so delicious
in screwing it up,
if I can say that,
for everybody else.
And everybody loves
a good villain.
I think people get a vicarious
thrill out of seeing
someone wink-wink
and get away with it.
If you return to Bobby,
all hell is going
to break loose.
I'll call off this truce that
exists between him and me.
We'll be in a dogfight,
and that will make what
went on before
look like a love match.
Larry Hagman's
character, JR Ewing,
remains the perfect symbol of
1980's excesses...
An oil man who liked money
and didn't care
who he stepped on to get it.
He was conniving,
unethical, immoral,
and audiences couldn't
get enough.
And as for your brother,
I'll use every penny
at my disposal
and Ewing Oil's disposal
to destroy him.
I'll bring Mr. Cliff Barnes
down for good.
And whoever goes down
with him, so be it.
Now, you've known me long enough
to know I don't
make idle threats.
So I promise you what I have
just said will happen...
if you return to Bob.
It's your choice, Pam.
One bar, I don't know, it was in
Illinois or something like that,
used to buy
an old television set,
and at the end of the show,
when I came on
with that kind of grin
of mine...
Ha ha ha.
They would raffle off tickets.
And whoever got the winning
ticket would be able
to throw a beer bottle through
the television set.
I thought that was... that's...
I made it.
I had made it then.
"Dallas"" success
didn't go unnoticed at ABC.
And the network quickly crafted
its own drama
about a super-rich oil family,
"Dynasty,"
starring John Forsythe
and Linda Evans
as Krystle Carrington.
I hope you don't ever think
that I'm being intrusive...
Like a stepmother
watching over you.
I like it.
It's good you being here
with us, Krystle.
The character was a beautiful
character
that I think people trusted.
Early on, "Dynasty's"
ratings foundered.
The producers looked for
a villain to shake things up...
A female version of JR Ewing.
They wanted more zip.
They wanted more drama.
And so they decided to add
an ex-wife of Blake Carrington's
who would still
be interested in him.
The producers offered
the role to Sophia Loren
and then to Elizabeth Taylor.
Both said no.
So they turned to
an accomplished British actress
who wasn't as well known
in the states...
Joan Collins.
She agreed,
making her debut
in the now-famous
season two premiere.
Would you state your
full name, please?
Alexis Morell Carrington.
And your residence?
You were the first wife of
the defendant, Blake Carrington.
You're the mother of his
children, is that correct?
Yes, it is.
Well, it's, you know, Snow White
and the Evil Queen,
it's good against evil,
it's blonde versus brunette.
It's classic.
Joan Collins
based her character Alexis
on an old friend
and a certain outrageous
real-life businessman...
Donald Trump.
I put a bit of Donald Trump
in there, I thought.
An actress since her teens,
Joan Collins studied
for the stage
at the Royal Academy in London.
While serious about her craft,
she did make time for
one young American.
Let's see, I think I was 19,
and I think she was 16.
And I was stationed over there
in the Air Force.
I dated her several times...
And her sister Jackie.
She was gorgeous, too.
Oh, yeah, that was great.
But I had to have them in
by 10:00 at night,
so not much you can do between
8:00 and 10:00.
Young Joan Collins was
focused on acting for the stage.
She didn't have much interest
in films or television...
At least, not at first.
An agent saw my picture
and got in touch with me,
and brought me into his office,
and said, "Do you want to
be in the films?"
And I said, "No.
No, I'm going to be
an actress...
A proper actress on the stage.
I don't want to be in the films,
they can't act."
Anyway, he said, "Well, you'll
make a bit of money
and I think you'll
do very well."
So he got me a few small parts
in three or four films.
Collins made her mark
with a certain type of role,
perfect preparation for her
character on "Dynasty."
Even when I started
when I was 17,
I always played bad girls or
naughty girls
or juvenile delinquents
or girls gone wrong.
Had something to do with
the way I look, you know?
In her early 20s,
Joan came to Hollywood,
landing starring roles
in films like "The Girl
in the Red Velvet Swing."
Now, look here,
why do you do that?
You can doubt me and laugh at me
and not try to hide it.
Oh, it's not because of that.
Then why do you do it?
It's my tooth.
I fell when I was skating
and chipped it.
You must be careful
not to trip up.
You're much too pretty.
Despite her movie roles,
Joan Collins didn't become
a household name
until she landed
the role of a lifetime...
"Dynasty's" Alexis.
Blake, what you call filth
may be a lie to you,
but I still have it.
And when I'm ready,
when I need a trump card,
I'm going to play it.
Once Joan Collins
joined the cast,
"Dynasty's" ratings skyrocketed,
just as "Dallas""
numbers had shot up
when Larry Hagman
became more prominent.
Meanwhile, a third nighttime
soap, "Knots Landing,"
was following the same formula,
but their villain had blond hair
and trademark blue eyes.
I guess it just happened.
I mean, my eyes are very blue,
I guess.
I don't know.
Donna's eyes are like...
Nobody has eyes like
Donna Mills... bitch.
But, no, I can't say...
No, she has gorgeous eyes.
Now, I like my marriage.
I assume you like yours.
Our lovemaking has
nothing to do with that.
Because if I ever have
to make a choice
between love and money...
money's gonna win every time.
Simple enough?
Donna Mills wasn't
the obvious choice
to play the troublemaker
on "Knots Landing."
She had a long resumé
of lighter roles,
including a stint on a sitcom
opposite Larry Hagman.
We were this very naive
husband and wife
in the good life.
You know, then to go from that
to being the villain.
A Spin-off from
"Dallas," "Knots Landing"
wasn't a ratings hit
until after Mills was added
to the cast to play
the scheming Abby.
Hey, let me give you
a hand with that.
At last, a man.
Da-dum!
She came on the show
to stir things up.
Moving day?
At last, yeah.
To create problems so that,
you know, other people
would have to deal with it.
Now, I mean it, Abby.
I just want an answer.
Well, I'm not saying we're
having an affair,
and I'm not saying we're not.
I am saying I can have him
any time I want him.
With the black hats
now in place,
TV's three major primetime soaps
would go on to some
of the longest runs
in the history
of television drama.
"Dynasty," nine years.
"Dallas," 13 years.
And "Knots Landing,"
the longest of all,
14 years.
And now,
"The Guiding Light."
Richard!
I thought you'd already left
for the office.
Daytime dramas date back to
the very earliest days of
television.
Laura, I've been very disturbed.
In 1964, the genre
came to prime time
with "Peyton Place," starring
Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow.
Hey, are you doing something
Friday night?
Aren't you going steady?
Not anymore.
How about it?
Well, I...
I guess it's all right.
Okay, it's a date.
Mia Farrow...
And that was so Barbra... hello!
That was, oh!
That was so much fun to watch.
They did blaze that trail,
and it was hugely successful.
People love to peer into other
people's lives.
Um...
I watched it.
I was a fan.
Well, all's well that ends well.
The genre was
nicknamed "soap operas"
because the earliest advertisers
on daytime television
were soap companies.
Join the value jubilee!
Make this year 19-thrifty-3.
Get personal size Ivory for
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You get four cakes
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for about the same price...
As only three cakes of any
other leading toilet soap.
Over time, the term
"soap" came to be associated
with story lines involving
long-lost relatives,
secret affairs, amnesia,
and the occasional evil twin.
When the genre was revived in
prime time in the late '70s,
many of the soapiest
story lines returned.
My evil twin in itself was
embarrassing a little bit to me.
Some joy...
Who are...
What's going on here?
After eight years, you have to
find something
to write about people,
so you do it.
What are you doing?
Calling my husband.
By the time he gets here,
you better have an explanation.
And, certainly,
and I don't mean to say
that "Knots Landing"
did not have
moments in time where I went,
"Okay, all right,
you want to do that,
all right."
You know, sometimes, went...
Whoosh... right into the soap.
Right into... did it
rather well most times.
I'm afraid...
that we lost the babies.
What?
I'm sorry.
There was nothing we could do.
They were stillborn.
But I saw them.
I heard them cry.
My very first scene in the show
is I'm sneaking in the hay loft.
Do you know how close that was?
With this ranch foreman
who was much older than I am.
His ex-girlfriend is Pam Ewing,
and I'm saying,
"Call me her name.
Call... do it!
Call me Pam."
Call me her name.
No.
Do it.
Call me her name.
And this is like weird stuff.
This has never been done
on television.
It was...
This is, you know, we absolutely
pushed the envelope back then.
I always considered it
a cartoon.
And I always thought of "Dallas"
as kind of funny,
'cause it was kind of funny.
The most famous
examples of over-the-top camp
were the catfights,
a "Dynasty" staple.
Well, I didn't cause your
accident, Krystle,
just as I didn't cause
your barrenness.
So if you've quite finished...
I haven't.
I think it was the first time
that knock-down, drag-out fights
between two women
had been seen on television.
Linda and I went all out.
And Linda was very strong.
She loves doing those
kind of scenes,
so she kind of ran the whole
show in those scenes.
You can fling each other around
on couches.
You can take pillows
and hit each other,
which the feathers all come out
and looks a lot more dramatic
than it is.
Whatever you have as a set,
you can use it to fall over,
be on,
but you can be cushioned by it.
You don't have to worry.
But I'm not also afraid
to go onto the ground.
But there are many aspects of
a room that you can just use
to look dramatic and fling
yourself around,
but you don't have to be hurt.
I loved it when I saw a scene
coming up
in which Linda and I were going
to have conflict,
or then Diahann and I.
I don't care what you say
to my face, you viper.
Retract this or I'll cram it
down your throat!
Will you?
I slapped Joan.
And Joan slapped me.
America went wild
that we were just...
just beating on each other.
Oh! You bitch!
And I thought, "Isn't that
interesting?
They like this.
Hmm."
What does that say about us?
But I loved every moment of it.
They were probably a little
over-the-top,
but that's what made it...
That's what made it "Dynasty."
Catfights aside,
the women of "Dynasty" embodied
the glamorous looks of the era,
setting the standards
for 1980's fashion.
I think the clothes were
a huge part
of what made "Dynasty" fun.
Remember that this was the '80s,
this was the excessive '80s.
We have to talk.
The big shoulder pads,
early in 1983, I think,
Pierre Cardin brought them out.
And I said to Nolan,
"That is a great look."
Excuse me.
You know, the shoulder pads,
and then it makes your waist
look smaller
and your hips slimmer.
Yes, well, I still do have
an empire to run
and it is keeping me sane, yes.
More flattering than
an Italian waiter.
Hello.
I thought I'd find you
here at the auction, Alexis.
Well, of course,
the jewelry is ravishing.
You know, Nancy, I have
an admission to make.
I would rather be looking
at antique cars.
Well, come on, then buy one.
No TV series showcased luxury
more than "Dynasty,"
with ostentatious fashion,
opulent jewelry,
and palatial locales.
There was one quite famous scene
when Henry Kissinger
is in the show,
and we're doing
the Carousel Ball,
and we were actually
shooting it in Denver.
And the director said, "Well,
just say something to Henry
as he walks past."
And so I was thinking,
"What can I say?
What would Alexis say?"
And I said, "Henry, darling,
I haven't seen you
since we last met in
Portofino."
And Henry was somewhat, was...
"Oh, really?"
Henry, hello!
Hello, Alexis, good to see you.
It's good to see you.
I haven't seen you
since Portofino.
It was fun.
While "Dynasty" focused on
the super-rich and powerful...
"Knots Landing" got bigger
ratings by telling stories
of more typical families.
At the center was Michele Lee's
character, Karen.
A woman who reflected the dreams
and aspirations
of middle-class America...
and was happy with it.
The Karen character
was a unique reflection
of American culture.
For 14 years, an Everywoman
who verbalized the questions
all Americans were thinking.
What she was saying was
what the audience,
what the middle-class audience,
was thinking.
I don't want to look
at the world
through rose-colored glasses,
I want the world
to be rose-colored.
I want people to be nice.
We talked about what
was happening.
That was...
enormous!
And people hadn't voiced it yet
on television.
People should be nice.
Nice should be the norm.
I hate it that
I can't trust anyone.
I hate it that I can't
put my daughter
on the front lawn by herself.
I hate it that I have
to lock my car,
and I have to worry about
an alarm system in my house,
and I can't send
cash in the mail.
That's not the way it's
supposed to be, Gary.
I liked being a Pollyanna.
I want to be a Pollyanna.
She talked about the inability
of her...
Middle-class America,
putting her child,
and allowing her child to play
out on the front lawn.
Can't do it anymore.
Can't send checks in the mail.
Have to have alarms on my car.
"People should be nice!"
she says.
Why aren't people just nice?
Karen's best friend
on "Knots Landing"
was Valene, played
by Joan Van Ark.
You know, whenever Gary
and me talk about
the way we'd like to be,
it's always you and Sid.
You know, solid.
I think Valene...
started a particular way,
a little more vulnerable,
a little with the braids
and the gloves.
It's just that sometimes
I feel like such
a dunce around here.
I mean, Karen's got
a college education,
and so does Ginger.
I mean, even Laura's had
some college.
I got no education at all
to speak of.
Over time, Valene grew.
The producers even asked Van Ark
to drop the character's accent.
I liked that about her,
because that kept her with
a fingerprint
that was her own, you know.
So I would have stayed
with the accent,
made it slighter, but still
always just a little bit there.
'Cause once you're in the south,
unless you move to London...
you're gonna keep,
you know, talking
with a little bit of a twang,
a little sloppy there.
By the sixth season,
Valene had developed
a multiple-personality disorder.
The transition from personality
to personality
was an opportunity for Van Ark
to showcase her acting skills.
What did you do?
What did you do?!
What?
You...
dirty, filthy tramp.
You!
The way to go into this
new character,
which was gonna be Verna Ellers
in Tennessee as a waitress,
would be for me to wash my face,
at the sink in the bathroom.
And completely wash
everything off
and start all over again.
You tramp!
I go in the bathroom,
look in the mirror,
turn on the water,
wash my whole face, soapy,
soapy, soapy,
rinse it, and put a whole
new makeup on
and become this other character.
Hello. Hi.
And I was just talking
into the mirror.
And that's the scene I'm
the most proud of to this day.
You know what I think, Verna?
I think...
that you owe it to yourself
to go on a shopping spree.
Buy yourself some
pretty new dresses.
Because you...
are going home.
If "Knots Landing" appealed to
a female demographic,
"Dallas" skewed the other
direction,
with two strong male characters
at the center,
played by Patrick Duffy
and Larry Hagman.
Just think lovely, wonderful
thoughts...
and up you go!
Show business was part
of Larry Hagman's life
from an early age,
as he watched his mother...
Mary Martin...
Star in NBC's "Peter Pan"
special.
♪ Look at me,
way up high ♪
♪ Suddenly, here am I,
I'm flying ♪
Inspired by his
mother's success,
Larry Hagman hoped to follow her
footsteps into show business.
Well, she gave me three pieces
of advice.
She said always hang up
your costumes,
and know your lines,
and stay reasonably sober.
Well, I did two of them.
When his parents
divorced, Hagman moved to Texas
and worked a back-breaking job
digging ditches
under the hot Texas sun.
His tough, unyielding boss named
Jess Hall Jr
would become the prototype
for JR Ewing.
Jess Hall Jr.
And he was
the quintessential JR.
And I just took his character
and lived it.
Larry Hagman first
came to national prominence
in the sitcom
"I Dream of Jeannie,"
which showcased his
comedic talents.
What I'd really like to do
on a day like
this is go swimming.
I wish I had a swimming pool
on my patio.
Jeannie!
What will the neighbors think?
I can't afford a swimming pool.
You do not wish it?
No, I do not wish it.
Now come on, get rid of it.
I loved working with Larry.
Help!
I really had a good time
all the time on that show.
I enjoyed that part.
When you look at
the comedic work he did
on "I Dream of Jeannie,"
he was a comedic genius
on that show.
He really was.
After "I Dream of Jeannie,"
Larry Hagman turned to
dramatic roles,
including an obscure film called
"Stardust,"
where Hagman began to develop
the character of JR Ewing.
Porter Lee Austin.
I'm delighted to meet you.
Nice to see you.
I was playing a manager,
and they'd written it as
a Boston character,
and I tried to get my accent
into a Boston,
kind of talking like that.
It didn't work.
Hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute, Jim.
You mean you don't
know about this?
Now, what the hell is this?
Is this the way
the English do business?
God only knows.
We had lunch, and they said,
"That's not really your accent,
is it?"
I said, "No, I have kind
of a Texas accent."
They said, "Well,
why don't you use that?"
So I used the Texas accent
and made the guy a Texan,
and that was the study I'd done
on the JR character.
And that was a lot of fun.
I liked that.
Todd, I want to tell
you something.
There's no one
in the whole world
who's a bigger fan
of yours than I am,
and I mean that from
the bottom of my heart.
When Larry Hagman
landed "Dallas,"
he was ready to play JR...
A presence on the set
from the very first day.
Larry walked in, cowboy hat.
I remember walking into
the first reading,
and I had my Western garb
that I always wore anyhow.
Slung over his shoulder,
he had a carved...
leather saddlebags.
And I had a case of champagne
in a big leather sack
with ice in it.
And a big... big creature that
walked in.
I mean, it was an awesome,
awesome sight.
I walked in the door,
and she said,
"Ah, I'm your wife,
I'm Sue Ellen."
And he looked at me,
and he went, "Hello, darlin'."
And that was right there.
I knew that woman was just
the best leading lady
I'd ever have.
There was an...
there's an instant
chemistry that we had.
I... you know,
I can't describe it.
It's magical.
Sue Ellen...
In the past,
I never realized how lucky I was
to have you for a wife,
and a lover.
I took you for granted.
I'll never do that again.
Moments of tenderness
were rare on "Dallas."
Most of the time, Sue Ellen
was at war with JR.
He could have died, Sue Ellen.
You're a totally unfit mother.
JR, stop!
Sue Ellen, he'd be a hell
of a lot better
with you out of his life.
We'd all be better off.
Well, where is he?!
Stop!
Sue Ellen's anger
and frustration led to alcohol.
So I remember saying to
the producers,
"Sue Ellen has had
too many affairs,
and she's had too many
years of drinking.
I would like her to stop."
And they said, patronizingly so,
"But you do it so well."
I said, "Thanks!
Thanks a lot."
Eventually, Sue Ellen
found herself homeless
and living on the street.
Drink it!
You saw her at her...
at her lowest.
And I thought people
need to see this.
They need to see that, you know,
this could happen to them.
But fortunes changed
often on "Dallas,"
and Sue Ellen had
her share of success.
Sign these.
90% of the business is mine.
You keep 10 for incentive.
I want you to stay right here
and manage things the way
you always have.
But I'll call the shots.
Maybe we'll even see a profit.
To this day, I feel
that Sue Ellen Ewing
was the most interesting female
on television in the '80s.
After the third-season
cliffhanger
created a worldwide frenzy,
Larry Hagman saw an opportunity
and asked for an unprecedented
salary hike.
"Dallas" was a huge success,
and I thought, "Well, you know,
I'm getting a secondary
salary here,"
so I thought it's a good time
for me to ask for a little more.
I asked for a huge amount.
Hagman demanded
$100,000 per episode.
CBS offered about half that.
He held out.
He didn't report to work.
And then, you know, the world
knew that he was holding out.
So if JR lives,
is it going to be JR?
So are they going to recast it?
It built up such a ground swell
of interest.
In the end,
Larry Hagman got his way.
And so when they gave me
that raise
with the incremental raises
down the line,
I mean, it lasted for, what,
10 years after that.
So it turned out to be
a pretty good salary.
So I was the first guy
to negotiate that.
Hagman's unexpected
victory sent a shock wave
through the industry that
reverberated for decades.
20 years later when the stars of
NBC's "Friends"
reached the million dollar
per episode level,
Larry Hagman was smiling.
So I figured all those kids on
"Friends" owe me at least 10%.
They were getting a million
dollars each!
Good for them!
I just want a little piece.
Larry Hagman had fun every week
playing a larger-than-life
character.
The series was a much bigger
challenge for Patrick Duffy,
who played Bobby,
the more restrained good guy.
Good guys, you know,
that's the hard work... Bobby.
Bobby has the hard work.
He's such a nice guy.
And, you know, and the bad guy
gets the ladies
and the money and all
that kind of stuff.
And I had more fun
with that part.
When you're a JR character
or any of those characters,
you're just... the world
is your oyster.
You can do anything.
And it's written that you do
anything, and it's justified.
But Bobby's role as a character
is the counterbalance to that.
JR, we have got a lot of
loyal people working
for us down there.
They deserve better than to get
kicked out in the street.
Well, what do you
think you're doing?
Aren't we losing enough money
because of all those
Arab countries, huh?
Now you want to start
supporting the rest of Texas?
JR, there's got to be
more to Ewing Oil
than just making money.
Well, maybe so, but
I don't know what it is.
Now, listen to me, Bob.
If Washington wants
to pay welfare,
that is their business,
but I'm not going to.
I'm serious about this.
So am I.
If you don't have the stomach
to lay folks off, I'll do it.
That has nothing to do with it!
After the seventh season,
Patrick Duffy left "Dallas."
His character was killed off.
I love you...
so much.
Without Bobby,
"Dallas" struggled.
Don't do this to me, Bobby.
Larry Hagman pressured
the producers for a solution.
Together, they came up with
a surprise twist
that would save the series.
In a remote warehouse,
the plan was put into action.
First, a shower set was built
to shoot a commercial
for Irish Spring soap.
Inside the shower was an actor
quite familiar to "Dallas" fans.
And we hired a commercial
production company
in Los Angeles to shoot
an Irish Spring commercial.
And we spent all day in
the middle of a huge sound stage
with a little tiny shower built
right in the center.
And I was wet and lathering up
for about eight hours.
But this was
no Irish Spring commercial.
It was a fake...
Designed to get key footage
for "Dallas"
without tipping off the media to
the series' big secret...
That Patrick Duffy
was returning.
All he needed was for me
to turn to camera
and go, "Good morning."
Good morning.
But I would go, "Good morning."
Beat, beat, beat.
"And you can have a good
morning, too,
"if you wake up like
the Duffy family
with Irish Spring..."
And we'd do the whole
commercial.
Bobby's exit from the shower...
Minus the Irish Spring line...
Opened the ninth season.
Eventually, it was revealed
the the entire previous season
had been nothing more
than a dream.
Pam?
Honey, what's the matter?
You look like
you just saw a ghost.
With Bobby back,
"Dallas"" ratings improved.
Once again, it was the black hat
versus a worthy white hat...
JR versus Bobby.
Larry did the research
on JR's character.
And what people don't understand
is he lost more money
in 13 years for
the Ewing family,
and Bobby actually made more
money for the Ewing family.
But everybody thinks that his
ruthless character
was just one success after
another.
But he had tankers going down
and oil fields blowing up,
revolutions happening.
It was great fun... great fun.
"Dynasty's" oil baron,
played by John Forsythe, may not
have had JR Ewing's panache,
but he was no less willing to
play outside the rules.
I felt that his character Blake
was much more evil
than my character of Alexis
because he'd killed people.
And Alexis never killed anyone.
No, no!
He's not breathing.
John Forsythe was by
far the most experienced actor
on the "Dynasty" set,
having starred in dozens
of movies.
But he was best known for a role
in which he was not seen...
As the distinctive voice
of Charlie
in "Charlie's Angels."
Charlie!
A trophy.
What for?
A small remembrance
from me to you to commemorate
the official end of your
racing career.
Well, thank you, Charlie.
And if you ever put forth
a championship effort
at anything,
you be sure to let me know
so I can send you a trophy.
Not a bad idea, Sabrina.
I'll start working on it
right away.
In "Dynasty,"
Forsythe's Blake Carrington
was married to Linda Evans'
character Krystle.
It wasn't the first time these
two actors had worked together.
20 years earlier,
Evans guest-starred
on Forsythe's sitcom
"Bachelor Father."
Well, John Forsythe gave me
my first speaking part.
You know, I've heard
about you...
Man about town,
eligible bachelor.
Dad might be all to
himself pretty soon.
Do you have any feelings
about this divorce?
Mom and dad are just...
how shall I put it,
in different orbits.
And as the man said,
"You can't warm over
spilled milk."
Right?
It was called
"Crush on Bentley."
And I had a crush on him
and tried to seduce him.
Well, all right!
I'm pretty good at hint-taking.
I'm sorry, Liz.
I really do think
it would be wise.
I had not seen John since
I was 15 years old
till he walked on the set
of "Dynasty."
And he said, "My!
Little Linda Evanstad,
how you've grown.
And how is your mother Arlene?"
And I thought, "Oh, my gosh!
John, what a guy, remembered
all those things!"
By the fifth season
of "Dynasty,"
John Forsythe was lobbying to
make his character nicer.
The producers agreed, but
worried with too many good guys,
the show might lose
its dramatic edge.
But even with the softer
Blake Carrington,
"Dynasty" remained
a top-10 series.
John Forsythe and I refused,
at that point in the show,
to have affairs with other
characters in the show.
We said, "Can there be somebody
on television
that is loyal and faithful?
Can we have some kind
of role model
for two people who love each
other who don't do that?
I mean, I know this
is a soap opera,
but we want to do it this way."
And it was wonderful because
they listened to us.
Despite rating
success, the primetime soaps
faced a stinging criticism that
grew over time.
They were among the whitest
shows on television.
Over 13 seasons, "Dallas"
producers never cast
an African-American actor
in a major role.
"Knots Landing" did better,
adding an African-American
family,
but it wasn't until
the ninth season,
and the characters often didn't
appear for weeks at a time.
I felt that...
at first, I came on like
gangbusters.
And then because there are so
many characters,
they do have to... you only
have so much time.
You know what's really
ironic about
Val's accusations?
What?
Well, you said that the night
that you were over there,
she was acting like somebody
had a gun to her head.
She was...
but it could have been
the pills.
Maybe she'd already taken them.
No, no, chlorazepam
hydrochloride
is a sedative, honey.
It wouldn't have made
Val nervous,
it would have made her calm.
Concerned about her
diminishing screen time,
Lynne Moody met with
the producers.
I didn't...
handle it very well.
So I asked to be off the show.
And they...
accommodated me.
The only primetime
soap that cast
an African-American in a major
role was "Dynasty"...
signing Diahann Carroll in 1984
to play Dominique Deveraux.
Welcome to La Mirage, Miss...
Deveraux.
Let's see.
I really wanted to do that.
I thought wouldn't it be
nice to do something
that's beautiful... mindless,
but beautiful.
By the time she came
to "Dynasty,"
Diahann Carroll was
a respected star,
a prominent singer and actress
who'd already starred
in her own successful
TV series "Julia."
So "Dynasty's"
producers listened
when she made suggestions.
I did say, "Please remember
to write...
If we're going to make this work
with what you have,
I think, if I may make
the suggestion,
that this character
should be written
the same as you would write
for a wealthy
white businessman,"
because she's a total bitch
about anything
except, "How do I earn money?"
Look, Ms. Deveraux,
whatever it is that you're
doing in Denver,
I suggest that you tread
very carefully with me.
Let me ask you, Mrs. Colby,
is that supposed to be
an implied threat of some sort?
Because if it is,
I am just as tough as you...
Maybe tougher.
Who the hell are you, anyway?
Who am I?
You'll find out very soon.
Very soon.
As the primetime
soaps moved into
their latter years, adding
an established star to the cast
became a common technique
to boost ratings.
But one star's appearance caused
an unprecedented controversy...
Rock Hudson.
Rock came on the set,
and he was painfully thin.
And I thought, "Oh, my God,
Are you all right?!"
Hudson was dying of AIDS,
but he told no one.
By the mid-1980s,
fear of AIDS was bordering
on hysteria.
Researchers could find no cure,
no real treatment,
and tens of thousands
were dying every year.
Some speculated that the disease
might be transmitted
by saliva in a kiss.
Although later disproven,
that fear was very real in 1985.
They have this scene
where I fall off the horse.
And he comes over,
and he sees me vulnerable
or something,
and knows that Blake's been
abusing me.
So we have all
the justification.
Don't move!
How's your shoulder?
Hudson was supposed to
give Evans a passionate kiss,
but held back, fearful he might
give her the AIDS virus.
So he has to kiss me.
Well, it was a very kind of...
not passionate kiss.
It wasn't the kind of kiss
they wanted.
And so a few months later,
the came back and they said
we're going to shoot that again.
So we re-shot it,
and he did the same thing.
In retrospect,
I understand he was trying
to protect me,
because nobody knew
in those days.
Soon, news of Hudson's
AIDS became public,
and he faced criticism
for not telling Evans
about his illness.
The hysteria reached a point
where even Evans was shunned.
There was such a big scare
on the set that...
some of the...
people in the cast wouldn't
eat with me,
wouldn't shake my hand,
and wouldn't be with me
in the same room...
Because they were afraid
they could give their children
or somebody AIDS if...
They didn't know,
if they shook my hand,
if the makeup thing...
There was just weeks and weeks
of being very careful.
The last of TV's big
nighttime soaps
left the air in 1993.
But the legacy of these
shows remains.
They demonstrated that viewers
liked continuing story lines
that aren't resolved each week,
an approach that was once taboo
on prime time.
There's not a show on
right now at this moment
that isn't soap... meaning
a continuing story.
They're all continuing.
Because these series were
immensely popular worldwide,
their impact on
the global culture
was potentially enormous.
The Ewings and the Carringtons
were the symbol of America
for a half a billion people
around the globe.
Whether that's good or bad
depends on your perspective.
We showed Americans to be
quite materialistic,
ruthless.
People like that big stuff...
Like big hats
and big shoulder pads,
big earrings and big hair.
My theory was the reason
the Soviet Union fell down
is because they were seeing
what we had here,
all the cars
and the beautiful clothes.
But we also were able to show
a moral compass, a sense of
right and wrong.
Let's not get too high
and mighty.
"Dallas" was a nighttime soap.
So let's just call, you know...
And it was entertainment.
I thought that maybe "Dallas"
was the downfall
of the Soviet Union... ha ha.
The stars of the primetime soaps
aren't just celebrities,
they are the icons
of a generation.
It was a slice of fantasy
mixed with the reality
of the problems that these
people had.
And I thought,
"This is so great...
Two older women in television."
How great is that...
With all these glamorous
clothes saying,
"We're not through yet,
you know."
It was all, to me, bottom line
about relationships,
and dysfunctional at their best.
Here comes little Lucy
learning how to drive
and getting her first car
and accusing one of her
schoolteachers of raping her.
And Lucy got married, divorced,
she was addicted to pills,
she was raped.
Ah, those were the good old days
for Lucy, little Lucy.
Because you wanted to come back
every week,
you wanted to find out what
happened to those people,
what they were doing.
I really... I do like TV.
I think I'd like to
come back on TV.
From day one at
the table reading,
you could not imagine
anyone else playing any
of those parts
except the people at that table.
And I think the audience got it.
I would describe "Dynasty"
as 100% entertainment,
and very good entertainment.
I have to say I love "Dynasty"
so much.
I love what it gave me.
I actually feel very proud
of what I represented
because, up to this day,
really, women would come
up to me
and say, "Thank you."
"Dallas" is about them
and "Knots" is about us.
And it's closer to home somehow.
We love that camaraderie
in all of us.
And we agreed to just
have fun during it,
and we just all had a blast!
I'm just an entertainer.
You know, I'm not a singer,
I don't dance,
I don't sing, I don't play
any instruments.
I have to rely on somebody else
to write the lines for me.
So I just do the best I can
at interpretation.
And I happened to hit on
a character
that I was familiar with.
The primetime soaps
won't soon be forgotten,
and their audiences
remain unmatched...
thanks to the performances
of the "Pioneers
of Television."
For more insider features
about your favorite TV stars,
stories you won't hear
anywhere else,
hang up your costumes
and know your lines
and stay reasonably sober."
Well, I did two of 'em.
I think I was
somewhat responsible
for the shoulder pads.
What?
I think it was the first time
that knock-down, drag-out fights
between two women had been
seen on television.
Sometimes we're... whoosh...
Right into the soap.
And that's when somebody
in the room, again, said,
"Well, let's shoot
somebody."
And the obvious choice was,
"Let's shoot JR."
The character was
a beautiful character
that I think people trusted.
They created
the characters we loved
and hated.
Everyone in the world has
a jerk like JR in the family.
I'm going to bring Bobby down.
I'm going to cut him out,
if I have to
destroy Ewing Oil to do it.
A father, an uncle, a brother
or a cousin, or somebody
who asserts authority
and is a jerk.
And everybody
can identify with that.
He was so evil
and yet so vulnerable at times,
so sexy, and you hated him.
You're not a human being,
you're scum!
Edgar, I know how you feel,
but it's not going to
change the way things are.
Now, don't make it hard
on yourself.
I'm really a nice fella,
when I get what I want.
They embodied
a generation's aspirations
and excesses.
A saga of people
who could actually wear,
maybe, tiaras.
And it was all about oil!
Oil and "get rich."
It was a magical time
in U.S. history.
It was the oil embargo,
Reagan was president,
it was all macho swagger.
They were larger than life
and over the top.
Ow!
She came up to me and said,
"That felt so real.
Did you mean it?"
And I said, "No, darling,
it was acting."
When someone walked in and said,
"Do you like my new ring?
It cost $187 million
and we just picked it out,"
I'd think,
"That was 'Dynasty.""
I hope we meet again,
Ms. Deveraux.
Oh, we will,
Mr. Carrington,
believe me.
They represented an ideal
and set the trends for a nation.
If you look
at the actors in "Dynasty,"
they were the best-looking
bunch of actors
that I've ever seen in a show,
better than "Dallas."
The guys were guys and,
you know, they were cowboys,
and the women were
gorgeous Dallas ladies,
all of them gorgeous,
look like former Miss Dallas,
every single one of them.
Well, it didn't take you
very long to find him, did it?
He found me.
But, then, I knew him
first, didn't I?
Uh, ladies,
I don't think this is
the proper place
for an argument.
No matter what you call them,
these television series ranked
among the most popular ever.
I have no problem saying
"Dallas" was a nighttime soap.
That's what it was.
Well, I never liked
the term "soap."
I thought it was
a nighttime drama.
I don't know really
where it falls...
Drama or cartoonish
or whatever...
But it carved a place in
history, that's for sure.
Together, they created
some of television's
biggest hits.
They are
the "Pioneers of Television."
November 21, 1980.
As 10 P.M. approached,
the nation shut down.
Restaurants closed early,
shopping malls emptied out,
meetings were cancelled.
Across America and the world,
only one question
seemed important...
"Who shot JR?"
That was a big deal.
The entire world wanted
to know the answer.
And it took us to a level
that most actors
never get to experience.
It was so huge!
It was the longest summer ever.
The "Dallas" TV series
had already been a runaway hit.
But then the show's producers
came up with an idea
that would trigger
a worldwide obsession.
And that's when somebody
in the room again said,
"Well, let's shoot somebody."
And the obvious choice was,
"Let's shoot JR.
Everybody wants
to do it anyway."
And that's how it happened.
So they shot JR, he collapses
on the floor...
That iconic shot of him
lying on the floor.
Who's there?
The shooting
took place in the final scene
of the third season.
The producers of "Dallas"
had just invented
the primetime TV cliffhanger.
For the next eight months,
the world speculated about who'd
shot TV's biggest villain.
The episode that finally
revealed the answer
would send the ratings higher
than anything
television had ever seen...
Numbers that even beat
the Super Bowl.
People were having "Dallas"
parties and so forth.
It was just a strange
phenomenon.
I really don't get it.
They were betting on it
in Vegas.
Everything stopped...
when we found out who shot JR.
So, when the shooter
was revealed...
Kristin, Sue Ellen's sister.
I have finally figured
everything out, that's all.
You have been trying
to frame me.
Oh, you're crazy.
It was you, Kristin,
who shot JR.
Kristin, it was you who shot JR.
The seeds of
the "Dallas" phenomenon
were planted in 1978 when
the series premiered on CBS.
The original story line focused
on Bobby and Pam,
young lovers from opposing
families...
Rich Texas oil families.
Bobby and Pam were sort of like
Romeo and Juliet,
the Montagues and the Capulets
getting married,
you know, going, it's that old
Shakespearean story just retold.
Your folks are going to
throw me right off that ranch.
Relax, honey,
you're my wife now.
You're family.
You are a Ewing.
And once that sinks in,
they're going to
love you like I do.
Before it sinks in
is what worries me.
Relax, sweetheart,
everything's gonna be fine.
Originally, the show was
"Romeo and Juliet."
It was Bobby and Pam,
the Montagues and Capulets,
and all the big...
If that would have been
the follow-through premise,
we'd have been down
in two years.
"Dallas" didn't become
popular until a villain emerged.
There were plenty of candidates.
The first script I read,
everybody was a scoundrel.
Even Mama, in her own way,
was a scoundrel.
And over the period
of five or six shows
that we did the pilot, you know,
the miniseries,
it kind of narrowed down to me,
which was fun.
Larry rose to the fore,
which was not intended
in the original premise
of the show.
But he found something in there
that fit him like a glove.
And from day one when we saw
that happening,
the rest of the cast went, "Yes!
This is gonna be great,"
because we rode his coattails
for 13 years.
Because he was so delicious
in screwing it up,
if I can say that,
for everybody else.
And everybody loves
a good villain.
I think people get a vicarious
thrill out of seeing
someone wink-wink
and get away with it.
If you return to Bobby,
all hell is going
to break loose.
I'll call off this truce that
exists between him and me.
We'll be in a dogfight,
and that will make what
went on before
look like a love match.
Larry Hagman's
character, JR Ewing,
remains the perfect symbol of
1980's excesses...
An oil man who liked money
and didn't care
who he stepped on to get it.
He was conniving,
unethical, immoral,
and audiences couldn't
get enough.
And as for your brother,
I'll use every penny
at my disposal
and Ewing Oil's disposal
to destroy him.
I'll bring Mr. Cliff Barnes
down for good.
And whoever goes down
with him, so be it.
Now, you've known me long enough
to know I don't
make idle threats.
So I promise you what I have
just said will happen...
if you return to Bob.
It's your choice, Pam.
One bar, I don't know, it was in
Illinois or something like that,
used to buy
an old television set,
and at the end of the show,
when I came on
with that kind of grin
of mine...
Ha ha ha.
They would raffle off tickets.
And whoever got the winning
ticket would be able
to throw a beer bottle through
the television set.
I thought that was... that's...
I made it.
I had made it then.
"Dallas"" success
didn't go unnoticed at ABC.
And the network quickly crafted
its own drama
about a super-rich oil family,
"Dynasty,"
starring John Forsythe
and Linda Evans
as Krystle Carrington.
I hope you don't ever think
that I'm being intrusive...
Like a stepmother
watching over you.
I like it.
It's good you being here
with us, Krystle.
The character was a beautiful
character
that I think people trusted.
Early on, "Dynasty's"
ratings foundered.
The producers looked for
a villain to shake things up...
A female version of JR Ewing.
They wanted more zip.
They wanted more drama.
And so they decided to add
an ex-wife of Blake Carrington's
who would still
be interested in him.
The producers offered
the role to Sophia Loren
and then to Elizabeth Taylor.
Both said no.
So they turned to
an accomplished British actress
who wasn't as well known
in the states...
Joan Collins.
She agreed,
making her debut
in the now-famous
season two premiere.
Would you state your
full name, please?
Alexis Morell Carrington.
And your residence?
You were the first wife of
the defendant, Blake Carrington.
You're the mother of his
children, is that correct?
Yes, it is.
Well, it's, you know, Snow White
and the Evil Queen,
it's good against evil,
it's blonde versus brunette.
It's classic.
Joan Collins
based her character Alexis
on an old friend
and a certain outrageous
real-life businessman...
Donald Trump.
I put a bit of Donald Trump
in there, I thought.
An actress since her teens,
Joan Collins studied
for the stage
at the Royal Academy in London.
While serious about her craft,
she did make time for
one young American.
Let's see, I think I was 19,
and I think she was 16.
And I was stationed over there
in the Air Force.
I dated her several times...
And her sister Jackie.
She was gorgeous, too.
Oh, yeah, that was great.
But I had to have them in
by 10:00 at night,
so not much you can do between
8:00 and 10:00.
Young Joan Collins was
focused on acting for the stage.
She didn't have much interest
in films or television...
At least, not at first.
An agent saw my picture
and got in touch with me,
and brought me into his office,
and said, "Do you want to
be in the films?"
And I said, "No.
No, I'm going to be
an actress...
A proper actress on the stage.
I don't want to be in the films,
they can't act."
Anyway, he said, "Well, you'll
make a bit of money
and I think you'll
do very well."
So he got me a few small parts
in three or four films.
Collins made her mark
with a certain type of role,
perfect preparation for her
character on "Dynasty."
Even when I started
when I was 17,
I always played bad girls or
naughty girls
or juvenile delinquents
or girls gone wrong.
Had something to do with
the way I look, you know?
In her early 20s,
Joan came to Hollywood,
landing starring roles
in films like "The Girl
in the Red Velvet Swing."
Now, look here,
why do you do that?
You can doubt me and laugh at me
and not try to hide it.
Oh, it's not because of that.
Then why do you do it?
It's my tooth.
I fell when I was skating
and chipped it.
You must be careful
not to trip up.
You're much too pretty.
Despite her movie roles,
Joan Collins didn't become
a household name
until she landed
the role of a lifetime...
"Dynasty's" Alexis.
Blake, what you call filth
may be a lie to you,
but I still have it.
And when I'm ready,
when I need a trump card,
I'm going to play it.
Once Joan Collins
joined the cast,
"Dynasty's" ratings skyrocketed,
just as "Dallas""
numbers had shot up
when Larry Hagman
became more prominent.
Meanwhile, a third nighttime
soap, "Knots Landing,"
was following the same formula,
but their villain had blond hair
and trademark blue eyes.
I guess it just happened.
I mean, my eyes are very blue,
I guess.
I don't know.
Donna's eyes are like...
Nobody has eyes like
Donna Mills... bitch.
But, no, I can't say...
No, she has gorgeous eyes.
Now, I like my marriage.
I assume you like yours.
Our lovemaking has
nothing to do with that.
Because if I ever have
to make a choice
between love and money...
money's gonna win every time.
Simple enough?
Donna Mills wasn't
the obvious choice
to play the troublemaker
on "Knots Landing."
She had a long resumé
of lighter roles,
including a stint on a sitcom
opposite Larry Hagman.
We were this very naive
husband and wife
in the good life.
You know, then to go from that
to being the villain.
A Spin-off from
"Dallas," "Knots Landing"
wasn't a ratings hit
until after Mills was added
to the cast to play
the scheming Abby.
Hey, let me give you
a hand with that.
At last, a man.
Da-dum!
She came on the show
to stir things up.
Moving day?
At last, yeah.
To create problems so that,
you know, other people
would have to deal with it.
Now, I mean it, Abby.
I just want an answer.
Well, I'm not saying we're
having an affair,
and I'm not saying we're not.
I am saying I can have him
any time I want him.
With the black hats
now in place,
TV's three major primetime soaps
would go on to some
of the longest runs
in the history
of television drama.
"Dynasty," nine years.
"Dallas," 13 years.
And "Knots Landing,"
the longest of all,
14 years.
And now,
"The Guiding Light."
Richard!
I thought you'd already left
for the office.
Daytime dramas date back to
the very earliest days of
television.
Laura, I've been very disturbed.
In 1964, the genre
came to prime time
with "Peyton Place," starring
Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow.
Hey, are you doing something
Friday night?
Aren't you going steady?
Not anymore.
How about it?
Well, I...
I guess it's all right.
Okay, it's a date.
Mia Farrow...
And that was so Barbra... hello!
That was, oh!
That was so much fun to watch.
They did blaze that trail,
and it was hugely successful.
People love to peer into other
people's lives.
Um...
I watched it.
I was a fan.
Well, all's well that ends well.
The genre was
nicknamed "soap operas"
because the earliest advertisers
on daytime television
were soap companies.
Join the value jubilee!
Make this year 19-thrifty-3.
Get personal size Ivory for
your beauty care and save.
You get four cakes
of personal size Ivory
for about the same price...
As only three cakes of any
other leading toilet soap.
Over time, the term
"soap" came to be associated
with story lines involving
long-lost relatives,
secret affairs, amnesia,
and the occasional evil twin.
When the genre was revived in
prime time in the late '70s,
many of the soapiest
story lines returned.
My evil twin in itself was
embarrassing a little bit to me.
Some joy...
Who are...
What's going on here?
After eight years, you have to
find something
to write about people,
so you do it.
What are you doing?
Calling my husband.
By the time he gets here,
you better have an explanation.
And, certainly,
and I don't mean to say
that "Knots Landing"
did not have
moments in time where I went,
"Okay, all right,
you want to do that,
all right."
You know, sometimes, went...
Whoosh... right into the soap.
Right into... did it
rather well most times.
I'm afraid...
that we lost the babies.
What?
I'm sorry.
There was nothing we could do.
They were stillborn.
But I saw them.
I heard them cry.
My very first scene in the show
is I'm sneaking in the hay loft.
Do you know how close that was?
With this ranch foreman
who was much older than I am.
His ex-girlfriend is Pam Ewing,
and I'm saying,
"Call me her name.
Call... do it!
Call me Pam."
Call me her name.
No.
Do it.
Call me her name.
And this is like weird stuff.
This has never been done
on television.
It was...
This is, you know, we absolutely
pushed the envelope back then.
I always considered it
a cartoon.
And I always thought of "Dallas"
as kind of funny,
'cause it was kind of funny.
The most famous
examples of over-the-top camp
were the catfights,
a "Dynasty" staple.
Well, I didn't cause your
accident, Krystle,
just as I didn't cause
your barrenness.
So if you've quite finished...
I haven't.
I think it was the first time
that knock-down, drag-out fights
between two women
had been seen on television.
Linda and I went all out.
And Linda was very strong.
She loves doing those
kind of scenes,
so she kind of ran the whole
show in those scenes.
You can fling each other around
on couches.
You can take pillows
and hit each other,
which the feathers all come out
and looks a lot more dramatic
than it is.
Whatever you have as a set,
you can use it to fall over,
be on,
but you can be cushioned by it.
You don't have to worry.
But I'm not also afraid
to go onto the ground.
But there are many aspects of
a room that you can just use
to look dramatic and fling
yourself around,
but you don't have to be hurt.
I loved it when I saw a scene
coming up
in which Linda and I were going
to have conflict,
or then Diahann and I.
I don't care what you say
to my face, you viper.
Retract this or I'll cram it
down your throat!
Will you?
I slapped Joan.
And Joan slapped me.
America went wild
that we were just...
just beating on each other.
Oh! You bitch!
And I thought, "Isn't that
interesting?
They like this.
Hmm."
What does that say about us?
But I loved every moment of it.
They were probably a little
over-the-top,
but that's what made it...
That's what made it "Dynasty."
Catfights aside,
the women of "Dynasty" embodied
the glamorous looks of the era,
setting the standards
for 1980's fashion.
I think the clothes were
a huge part
of what made "Dynasty" fun.
Remember that this was the '80s,
this was the excessive '80s.
We have to talk.
The big shoulder pads,
early in 1983, I think,
Pierre Cardin brought them out.
And I said to Nolan,
"That is a great look."
Excuse me.
You know, the shoulder pads,
and then it makes your waist
look smaller
and your hips slimmer.
Yes, well, I still do have
an empire to run
and it is keeping me sane, yes.
More flattering than
an Italian waiter.
Hello.
I thought I'd find you
here at the auction, Alexis.
Well, of course,
the jewelry is ravishing.
You know, Nancy, I have
an admission to make.
I would rather be looking
at antique cars.
Well, come on, then buy one.
No TV series showcased luxury
more than "Dynasty,"
with ostentatious fashion,
opulent jewelry,
and palatial locales.
There was one quite famous scene
when Henry Kissinger
is in the show,
and we're doing
the Carousel Ball,
and we were actually
shooting it in Denver.
And the director said, "Well,
just say something to Henry
as he walks past."
And so I was thinking,
"What can I say?
What would Alexis say?"
And I said, "Henry, darling,
I haven't seen you
since we last met in
Portofino."
And Henry was somewhat, was...
"Oh, really?"
Henry, hello!
Hello, Alexis, good to see you.
It's good to see you.
I haven't seen you
since Portofino.
It was fun.
While "Dynasty" focused on
the super-rich and powerful...
"Knots Landing" got bigger
ratings by telling stories
of more typical families.
At the center was Michele Lee's
character, Karen.
A woman who reflected the dreams
and aspirations
of middle-class America...
and was happy with it.
The Karen character
was a unique reflection
of American culture.
For 14 years, an Everywoman
who verbalized the questions
all Americans were thinking.
What she was saying was
what the audience,
what the middle-class audience,
was thinking.
I don't want to look
at the world
through rose-colored glasses,
I want the world
to be rose-colored.
I want people to be nice.
We talked about what
was happening.
That was...
enormous!
And people hadn't voiced it yet
on television.
People should be nice.
Nice should be the norm.
I hate it that
I can't trust anyone.
I hate it that I can't
put my daughter
on the front lawn by herself.
I hate it that I have
to lock my car,
and I have to worry about
an alarm system in my house,
and I can't send
cash in the mail.
That's not the way it's
supposed to be, Gary.
I liked being a Pollyanna.
I want to be a Pollyanna.
She talked about the inability
of her...
Middle-class America,
putting her child,
and allowing her child to play
out on the front lawn.
Can't do it anymore.
Can't send checks in the mail.
Have to have alarms on my car.
"People should be nice!"
she says.
Why aren't people just nice?
Karen's best friend
on "Knots Landing"
was Valene, played
by Joan Van Ark.
You know, whenever Gary
and me talk about
the way we'd like to be,
it's always you and Sid.
You know, solid.
I think Valene...
started a particular way,
a little more vulnerable,
a little with the braids
and the gloves.
It's just that sometimes
I feel like such
a dunce around here.
I mean, Karen's got
a college education,
and so does Ginger.
I mean, even Laura's had
some college.
I got no education at all
to speak of.
Over time, Valene grew.
The producers even asked Van Ark
to drop the character's accent.
I liked that about her,
because that kept her with
a fingerprint
that was her own, you know.
So I would have stayed
with the accent,
made it slighter, but still
always just a little bit there.
'Cause once you're in the south,
unless you move to London...
you're gonna keep,
you know, talking
with a little bit of a twang,
a little sloppy there.
By the sixth season,
Valene had developed
a multiple-personality disorder.
The transition from personality
to personality
was an opportunity for Van Ark
to showcase her acting skills.
What did you do?
What did you do?!
What?
You...
dirty, filthy tramp.
You!
The way to go into this
new character,
which was gonna be Verna Ellers
in Tennessee as a waitress,
would be for me to wash my face,
at the sink in the bathroom.
And completely wash
everything off
and start all over again.
You tramp!
I go in the bathroom,
look in the mirror,
turn on the water,
wash my whole face, soapy,
soapy, soapy,
rinse it, and put a whole
new makeup on
and become this other character.
Hello. Hi.
And I was just talking
into the mirror.
And that's the scene I'm
the most proud of to this day.
You know what I think, Verna?
I think...
that you owe it to yourself
to go on a shopping spree.
Buy yourself some
pretty new dresses.
Because you...
are going home.
If "Knots Landing" appealed to
a female demographic,
"Dallas" skewed the other
direction,
with two strong male characters
at the center,
played by Patrick Duffy
and Larry Hagman.
Just think lovely, wonderful
thoughts...
and up you go!
Show business was part
of Larry Hagman's life
from an early age,
as he watched his mother...
Mary Martin...
Star in NBC's "Peter Pan"
special.
♪ Look at me,
way up high ♪
♪ Suddenly, here am I,
I'm flying ♪
Inspired by his
mother's success,
Larry Hagman hoped to follow her
footsteps into show business.
Well, she gave me three pieces
of advice.
She said always hang up
your costumes,
and know your lines,
and stay reasonably sober.
Well, I did two of them.
When his parents
divorced, Hagman moved to Texas
and worked a back-breaking job
digging ditches
under the hot Texas sun.
His tough, unyielding boss named
Jess Hall Jr
would become the prototype
for JR Ewing.
Jess Hall Jr.
And he was
the quintessential JR.
And I just took his character
and lived it.
Larry Hagman first
came to national prominence
in the sitcom
"I Dream of Jeannie,"
which showcased his
comedic talents.
What I'd really like to do
on a day like
this is go swimming.
I wish I had a swimming pool
on my patio.
Jeannie!
What will the neighbors think?
I can't afford a swimming pool.
You do not wish it?
No, I do not wish it.
Now come on, get rid of it.
I loved working with Larry.
Help!
I really had a good time
all the time on that show.
I enjoyed that part.
When you look at
the comedic work he did
on "I Dream of Jeannie,"
he was a comedic genius
on that show.
He really was.
After "I Dream of Jeannie,"
Larry Hagman turned to
dramatic roles,
including an obscure film called
"Stardust,"
where Hagman began to develop
the character of JR Ewing.
Porter Lee Austin.
I'm delighted to meet you.
Nice to see you.
I was playing a manager,
and they'd written it as
a Boston character,
and I tried to get my accent
into a Boston,
kind of talking like that.
It didn't work.
Hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute, Jim.
You mean you don't
know about this?
Now, what the hell is this?
Is this the way
the English do business?
God only knows.
We had lunch, and they said,
"That's not really your accent,
is it?"
I said, "No, I have kind
of a Texas accent."
They said, "Well,
why don't you use that?"
So I used the Texas accent
and made the guy a Texan,
and that was the study I'd done
on the JR character.
And that was a lot of fun.
I liked that.
Todd, I want to tell
you something.
There's no one
in the whole world
who's a bigger fan
of yours than I am,
and I mean that from
the bottom of my heart.
When Larry Hagman
landed "Dallas,"
he was ready to play JR...
A presence on the set
from the very first day.
Larry walked in, cowboy hat.
I remember walking into
the first reading,
and I had my Western garb
that I always wore anyhow.
Slung over his shoulder,
he had a carved...
leather saddlebags.
And I had a case of champagne
in a big leather sack
with ice in it.
And a big... big creature that
walked in.
I mean, it was an awesome,
awesome sight.
I walked in the door,
and she said,
"Ah, I'm your wife,
I'm Sue Ellen."
And he looked at me,
and he went, "Hello, darlin'."
And that was right there.
I knew that woman was just
the best leading lady
I'd ever have.
There was an...
there's an instant
chemistry that we had.
I... you know,
I can't describe it.
It's magical.
Sue Ellen...
In the past,
I never realized how lucky I was
to have you for a wife,
and a lover.
I took you for granted.
I'll never do that again.
Moments of tenderness
were rare on "Dallas."
Most of the time, Sue Ellen
was at war with JR.
He could have died, Sue Ellen.
You're a totally unfit mother.
JR, stop!
Sue Ellen, he'd be a hell
of a lot better
with you out of his life.
We'd all be better off.
Well, where is he?!
Stop!
Sue Ellen's anger
and frustration led to alcohol.
So I remember saying to
the producers,
"Sue Ellen has had
too many affairs,
and she's had too many
years of drinking.
I would like her to stop."
And they said, patronizingly so,
"But you do it so well."
I said, "Thanks!
Thanks a lot."
Eventually, Sue Ellen
found herself homeless
and living on the street.
Drink it!
You saw her at her...
at her lowest.
And I thought people
need to see this.
They need to see that, you know,
this could happen to them.
But fortunes changed
often on "Dallas,"
and Sue Ellen had
her share of success.
Sign these.
90% of the business is mine.
You keep 10 for incentive.
I want you to stay right here
and manage things the way
you always have.
But I'll call the shots.
Maybe we'll even see a profit.
To this day, I feel
that Sue Ellen Ewing
was the most interesting female
on television in the '80s.
After the third-season
cliffhanger
created a worldwide frenzy,
Larry Hagman saw an opportunity
and asked for an unprecedented
salary hike.
"Dallas" was a huge success,
and I thought, "Well, you know,
I'm getting a secondary
salary here,"
so I thought it's a good time
for me to ask for a little more.
I asked for a huge amount.
Hagman demanded
$100,000 per episode.
CBS offered about half that.
He held out.
He didn't report to work.
And then, you know, the world
knew that he was holding out.
So if JR lives,
is it going to be JR?
So are they going to recast it?
It built up such a ground swell
of interest.
In the end,
Larry Hagman got his way.
And so when they gave me
that raise
with the incremental raises
down the line,
I mean, it lasted for, what,
10 years after that.
So it turned out to be
a pretty good salary.
So I was the first guy
to negotiate that.
Hagman's unexpected
victory sent a shock wave
through the industry that
reverberated for decades.
20 years later when the stars of
NBC's "Friends"
reached the million dollar
per episode level,
Larry Hagman was smiling.
So I figured all those kids on
"Friends" owe me at least 10%.
They were getting a million
dollars each!
Good for them!
I just want a little piece.
Larry Hagman had fun every week
playing a larger-than-life
character.
The series was a much bigger
challenge for Patrick Duffy,
who played Bobby,
the more restrained good guy.
Good guys, you know,
that's the hard work... Bobby.
Bobby has the hard work.
He's such a nice guy.
And, you know, and the bad guy
gets the ladies
and the money and all
that kind of stuff.
And I had more fun
with that part.
When you're a JR character
or any of those characters,
you're just... the world
is your oyster.
You can do anything.
And it's written that you do
anything, and it's justified.
But Bobby's role as a character
is the counterbalance to that.
JR, we have got a lot of
loyal people working
for us down there.
They deserve better than to get
kicked out in the street.
Well, what do you
think you're doing?
Aren't we losing enough money
because of all those
Arab countries, huh?
Now you want to start
supporting the rest of Texas?
JR, there's got to be
more to Ewing Oil
than just making money.
Well, maybe so, but
I don't know what it is.
Now, listen to me, Bob.
If Washington wants
to pay welfare,
that is their business,
but I'm not going to.
I'm serious about this.
So am I.
If you don't have the stomach
to lay folks off, I'll do it.
That has nothing to do with it!
After the seventh season,
Patrick Duffy left "Dallas."
His character was killed off.
I love you...
so much.
Without Bobby,
"Dallas" struggled.
Don't do this to me, Bobby.
Larry Hagman pressured
the producers for a solution.
Together, they came up with
a surprise twist
that would save the series.
In a remote warehouse,
the plan was put into action.
First, a shower set was built
to shoot a commercial
for Irish Spring soap.
Inside the shower was an actor
quite familiar to "Dallas" fans.
And we hired a commercial
production company
in Los Angeles to shoot
an Irish Spring commercial.
And we spent all day in
the middle of a huge sound stage
with a little tiny shower built
right in the center.
And I was wet and lathering up
for about eight hours.
But this was
no Irish Spring commercial.
It was a fake...
Designed to get key footage
for "Dallas"
without tipping off the media to
the series' big secret...
That Patrick Duffy
was returning.
All he needed was for me
to turn to camera
and go, "Good morning."
Good morning.
But I would go, "Good morning."
Beat, beat, beat.
"And you can have a good
morning, too,
"if you wake up like
the Duffy family
with Irish Spring..."
And we'd do the whole
commercial.
Bobby's exit from the shower...
Minus the Irish Spring line...
Opened the ninth season.
Eventually, it was revealed
the the entire previous season
had been nothing more
than a dream.
Pam?
Honey, what's the matter?
You look like
you just saw a ghost.
With Bobby back,
"Dallas"" ratings improved.
Once again, it was the black hat
versus a worthy white hat...
JR versus Bobby.
Larry did the research
on JR's character.
And what people don't understand
is he lost more money
in 13 years for
the Ewing family,
and Bobby actually made more
money for the Ewing family.
But everybody thinks that his
ruthless character
was just one success after
another.
But he had tankers going down
and oil fields blowing up,
revolutions happening.
It was great fun... great fun.
"Dynasty's" oil baron,
played by John Forsythe, may not
have had JR Ewing's panache,
but he was no less willing to
play outside the rules.
I felt that his character Blake
was much more evil
than my character of Alexis
because he'd killed people.
And Alexis never killed anyone.
No, no!
He's not breathing.
John Forsythe was by
far the most experienced actor
on the "Dynasty" set,
having starred in dozens
of movies.
But he was best known for a role
in which he was not seen...
As the distinctive voice
of Charlie
in "Charlie's Angels."
Charlie!
A trophy.
What for?
A small remembrance
from me to you to commemorate
the official end of your
racing career.
Well, thank you, Charlie.
And if you ever put forth
a championship effort
at anything,
you be sure to let me know
so I can send you a trophy.
Not a bad idea, Sabrina.
I'll start working on it
right away.
In "Dynasty,"
Forsythe's Blake Carrington
was married to Linda Evans'
character Krystle.
It wasn't the first time these
two actors had worked together.
20 years earlier,
Evans guest-starred
on Forsythe's sitcom
"Bachelor Father."
Well, John Forsythe gave me
my first speaking part.
You know, I've heard
about you...
Man about town,
eligible bachelor.
Dad might be all to
himself pretty soon.
Do you have any feelings
about this divorce?
Mom and dad are just...
how shall I put it,
in different orbits.
And as the man said,
"You can't warm over
spilled milk."
Right?
It was called
"Crush on Bentley."
And I had a crush on him
and tried to seduce him.
Well, all right!
I'm pretty good at hint-taking.
I'm sorry, Liz.
I really do think
it would be wise.
I had not seen John since
I was 15 years old
till he walked on the set
of "Dynasty."
And he said, "My!
Little Linda Evanstad,
how you've grown.
And how is your mother Arlene?"
And I thought, "Oh, my gosh!
John, what a guy, remembered
all those things!"
By the fifth season
of "Dynasty,"
John Forsythe was lobbying to
make his character nicer.
The producers agreed, but
worried with too many good guys,
the show might lose
its dramatic edge.
But even with the softer
Blake Carrington,
"Dynasty" remained
a top-10 series.
John Forsythe and I refused,
at that point in the show,
to have affairs with other
characters in the show.
We said, "Can there be somebody
on television
that is loyal and faithful?
Can we have some kind
of role model
for two people who love each
other who don't do that?
I mean, I know this
is a soap opera,
but we want to do it this way."
And it was wonderful because
they listened to us.
Despite rating
success, the primetime soaps
faced a stinging criticism that
grew over time.
They were among the whitest
shows on television.
Over 13 seasons, "Dallas"
producers never cast
an African-American actor
in a major role.
"Knots Landing" did better,
adding an African-American
family,
but it wasn't until
the ninth season,
and the characters often didn't
appear for weeks at a time.
I felt that...
at first, I came on like
gangbusters.
And then because there are so
many characters,
they do have to... you only
have so much time.
You know what's really
ironic about
Val's accusations?
What?
Well, you said that the night
that you were over there,
she was acting like somebody
had a gun to her head.
She was...
but it could have been
the pills.
Maybe she'd already taken them.
No, no, chlorazepam
hydrochloride
is a sedative, honey.
It wouldn't have made
Val nervous,
it would have made her calm.
Concerned about her
diminishing screen time,
Lynne Moody met with
the producers.
I didn't...
handle it very well.
So I asked to be off the show.
And they...
accommodated me.
The only primetime
soap that cast
an African-American in a major
role was "Dynasty"...
signing Diahann Carroll in 1984
to play Dominique Deveraux.
Welcome to La Mirage, Miss...
Deveraux.
Let's see.
I really wanted to do that.
I thought wouldn't it be
nice to do something
that's beautiful... mindless,
but beautiful.
By the time she came
to "Dynasty,"
Diahann Carroll was
a respected star,
a prominent singer and actress
who'd already starred
in her own successful
TV series "Julia."
So "Dynasty's"
producers listened
when she made suggestions.
I did say, "Please remember
to write...
If we're going to make this work
with what you have,
I think, if I may make
the suggestion,
that this character
should be written
the same as you would write
for a wealthy
white businessman,"
because she's a total bitch
about anything
except, "How do I earn money?"
Look, Ms. Deveraux,
whatever it is that you're
doing in Denver,
I suggest that you tread
very carefully with me.
Let me ask you, Mrs. Colby,
is that supposed to be
an implied threat of some sort?
Because if it is,
I am just as tough as you...
Maybe tougher.
Who the hell are you, anyway?
Who am I?
You'll find out very soon.
Very soon.
As the primetime
soaps moved into
their latter years, adding
an established star to the cast
became a common technique
to boost ratings.
But one star's appearance caused
an unprecedented controversy...
Rock Hudson.
Rock came on the set,
and he was painfully thin.
And I thought, "Oh, my God,
Are you all right?!"
Hudson was dying of AIDS,
but he told no one.
By the mid-1980s,
fear of AIDS was bordering
on hysteria.
Researchers could find no cure,
no real treatment,
and tens of thousands
were dying every year.
Some speculated that the disease
might be transmitted
by saliva in a kiss.
Although later disproven,
that fear was very real in 1985.
They have this scene
where I fall off the horse.
And he comes over,
and he sees me vulnerable
or something,
and knows that Blake's been
abusing me.
So we have all
the justification.
Don't move!
How's your shoulder?
Hudson was supposed to
give Evans a passionate kiss,
but held back, fearful he might
give her the AIDS virus.
So he has to kiss me.
Well, it was a very kind of...
not passionate kiss.
It wasn't the kind of kiss
they wanted.
And so a few months later,
the came back and they said
we're going to shoot that again.
So we re-shot it,
and he did the same thing.
In retrospect,
I understand he was trying
to protect me,
because nobody knew
in those days.
Soon, news of Hudson's
AIDS became public,
and he faced criticism
for not telling Evans
about his illness.
The hysteria reached a point
where even Evans was shunned.
There was such a big scare
on the set that...
some of the...
people in the cast wouldn't
eat with me,
wouldn't shake my hand,
and wouldn't be with me
in the same room...
Because they were afraid
they could give their children
or somebody AIDS if...
They didn't know,
if they shook my hand,
if the makeup thing...
There was just weeks and weeks
of being very careful.
The last of TV's big
nighttime soaps
left the air in 1993.
But the legacy of these
shows remains.
They demonstrated that viewers
liked continuing story lines
that aren't resolved each week,
an approach that was once taboo
on prime time.
There's not a show on
right now at this moment
that isn't soap... meaning
a continuing story.
They're all continuing.
Because these series were
immensely popular worldwide,
their impact on
the global culture
was potentially enormous.
The Ewings and the Carringtons
were the symbol of America
for a half a billion people
around the globe.
Whether that's good or bad
depends on your perspective.
We showed Americans to be
quite materialistic,
ruthless.
People like that big stuff...
Like big hats
and big shoulder pads,
big earrings and big hair.
My theory was the reason
the Soviet Union fell down
is because they were seeing
what we had here,
all the cars
and the beautiful clothes.
But we also were able to show
a moral compass, a sense of
right and wrong.
Let's not get too high
and mighty.
"Dallas" was a nighttime soap.
So let's just call, you know...
And it was entertainment.
I thought that maybe "Dallas"
was the downfall
of the Soviet Union... ha ha.
The stars of the primetime soaps
aren't just celebrities,
they are the icons
of a generation.
It was a slice of fantasy
mixed with the reality
of the problems that these
people had.
And I thought,
"This is so great...
Two older women in television."
How great is that...
With all these glamorous
clothes saying,
"We're not through yet,
you know."
It was all, to me, bottom line
about relationships,
and dysfunctional at their best.
Here comes little Lucy
learning how to drive
and getting her first car
and accusing one of her
schoolteachers of raping her.
And Lucy got married, divorced,
she was addicted to pills,
she was raped.
Ah, those were the good old days
for Lucy, little Lucy.
Because you wanted to come back
every week,
you wanted to find out what
happened to those people,
what they were doing.
I really... I do like TV.
I think I'd like to
come back on TV.
From day one at
the table reading,
you could not imagine
anyone else playing any
of those parts
except the people at that table.
And I think the audience got it.
I would describe "Dynasty"
as 100% entertainment,
and very good entertainment.
I have to say I love "Dynasty"
so much.
I love what it gave me.
I actually feel very proud
of what I represented
because, up to this day,
really, women would come
up to me
and say, "Thank you."
"Dallas" is about them
and "Knots" is about us.
And it's closer to home somehow.
We love that camaraderie
in all of us.
And we agreed to just
have fun during it,
and we just all had a blast!
I'm just an entertainer.
You know, I'm not a singer,
I don't dance,
I don't sing, I don't play
any instruments.
I have to rely on somebody else
to write the lines for me.
So I just do the best I can
at interpretation.
And I happened to hit on
a character
that I was familiar with.
The primetime soaps
won't soon be forgotten,
and their audiences
remain unmatched...
thanks to the performances
of the "Pioneers
of Television."
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