Premiering as a three hour movie on 12 January 1981, the prime time soap opera Dynasty aired on ABC until 1989. Dynasty quickly worked its way into the top 5 rated programs, finishing 5th for the 1982-83 season and 3rd for the 1983-84 season. It was the number one ranked program for the 1984-85 season, but rapidly began losing viewers. By its final season (1988-89), Dynasty finished tied for 57th place, and was unceremoniously dumped from ABC's roster leaving numerous dangling plotlines. These plotlines were tied up in a two-part, four-hour movie, Dynasty: The Reunion, which aired on ABC on 20 and 22 October 1991, some two years after the series' cancellation.

    The soap opera focused primarily on the lives and loves of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe), a wealthy Denver oil tycoon, his wife Krystle (Linda Evans), ex-wife, Alexis (Joan Collins), daughter Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin, Emma Samms), sons Steven (Al Corley, Jack Coleman) and Adam (Gordon Thomson), as well as numerous extended family members and associates including Fallon's husband/ex-husband Jeff Colby (John James) and Krystle's niece and Steven's wife/ex-wife, Sammy Jo (Heather Locklear).

    The program relied on both camp and excess for its appeal. Its characters and plotlines were sometimes absurd and broadly drawn, but it was the trappings of wealth, glamour, and fashion which drew viewers in some 70 countries to the program. With a weekly budget of $1.2 million ($10,000 of which went for clothing alone, including at least ten Nolan Miller creations per episode), Dynasty placed more emphasis on style than on plot.

    The plotlines of this prime time soap opera often resembled those of its daytime counterparts--kidnapped babies, amnesia, pregnancy, infidelity, and treachery. In fact, Dynasty made extensive use of one soap opera staple--the return to life of characters presumed dead. Both Fallon and Steven Carrington were killed off only to return in later seasons played by different actors.

    Just as often, however, Dynasty's plots leaned toward the campy and absurd. One of the most talked about and ridiculed plots was the 1985 season-ending cliffhanger which saw the Carringtons gathered for a wedding in the country of Moldavia. Terrorists stormed the ceremony in a hail of machine gun fire, but when the smoke cleared (at the start of the next season, of course), all of the primary characters were alive and basically unscathed.

    While often criticized for its weak and at times absurd plots, Dynasty did provide juicy roles for women, notably Joan Collins' characterization of Alexis. Her character--scheming, conniving, and ruthless--was often referred to as a "superbitch," and was the quintessential "character you love to hate." Alexis was set in opposition to Krystle who was more of a "good girl"--sweet, loyal, and loving. One of the best known scenes in Dynasty history was the 1983 "cat fight" between Alexis and Krystle in which they literally fought it out in a lily pond. Alexis met her match in the character of wealthy singer and nightclub owner, Dominique Devereaux (Diahann Carroll)--the first prominently-featured African-American character on a prime time soap opera.

    During its nearly nine year run, Dynasty spawned the short-lived spin-off Dynasty II: The Colbys (1985-87) and gave rise to numerous licensed luxury products, including perfume, clothing, and bedding. Never before had television product licensing been so targeted to upscale adults. W

    When Dynasty left the air in 1989, it also marked the demise of the prime time soap opera which had been a staple of television programming throughout the 1980s. Produced in part by Aaron Spelling, whose programs (e.g., Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Beverly Hills, 90210, and Melrose Place) have emphasized beauty, wealth, and glamour, Dynasty had proved the perfect metaphor for 1980s greed and excess. In declaring Dynasty the best prime time soap of the decade, TV Guide asserted its "campy opulence gave it a superb, ironic quality--in other words, it was great trash."

    -Sharon Mazzarella

    CAST

    Blake Carrington.................................. John Forsythe  

    Krystle Jennings Carrington..................... Linda Evans  

    Alexis Carrington Colby ...........................Joan Collins  

    Fallon Carrington Colby (1981-1984)............. Pamela Sue Martin

    Fallon Carrington Colby (1985, 1987-1989)...................... Emma Samms  

    Steven Carrington (1981-1982)...................... Al Corley  

    Steven Carrington (1982-1988).............. Jack Coleman  

    Adam Carrington/Michael Torrance (1982-1989).............. Gordon Thomson  

    Cecil Colby (1981-1982)....................... Lloyd Bochner

    Jeff Colby (1981-1985, 1987-1989)............ John James

    Claudia Blaisdel (1981-1986)............ Pamela Bellwood

    Matthew Blaisdel (1981)........................... Bo Hopkins

    Lindsay Blaisdel (1981)....................... Katy Kurtzman

    Walter Lankershim (1981)................... Dale Robertson

    Jeannette ........................................Virginia Hawkins

    Joseph Anders (1981-1983)..................... Lee Bergere

    Kirby (1982-1984)............................... Kathleen Beller

    Andrew Laird (1981-1984)............ Peter Mark Richman

    Sammy Jo Dean ..............................Heather Locklear

    Michael Culhane (1981, 1986-1987).... Wayne Northrop

    Dr. Nick Toscanni (1981-1982).......... James Farentino

    Mark Jennings (1982-1984)................... Geoffrey Scott

    Congressman Neal McEane (1982-1984, 1987)........... Paul Burke

    Chris Deegan (1983)........................... Grant Goodeve

    Tracy Kendall (1983-1984).................... Deborah Adair

    Farnsworth "Dex" Dexter (1983-1989)..... Michael Nader

    Peter de Vilbis (1983-1984).................. Helmut Berger

    Amanda Carrington (1984-1986).... Catherine Oxenberg

    Amanda Carrington (1986-1987)............... Karen Cellini

    Dominique Deveraux (1984-1987)......... Diahann Carroll

    Gerard (1984-1989)........................... William Beckley

    Gordon Wales (1984-1988)................. James Sutorius

    Luke Fuller (1984-1985)................... William Campbell

    Nicole Simpson (1984-1985)............... Susan Scannell

    Charles (1984-1985).......................... George DiCenzo

    Daniel Reece (1984-1985)...................... Rock Hudson

    Lady Ashley Mitchell (1985)..................... Ali MacGraw

    Danny Carrington (1985-1988)......... Jameson Sampley

    Joel Abrigore (1985-1986)................. George Hamilton

    Garrett Boydston (1985-1986)................... Ken Howard

    PRODUCERS

    Richard and Esther Shapiro, Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent, Philip Parslow, Elaine Rich, Ed Ledding

    PROGRAMMING HISTORY

    ABC

    January 1981-April 1981   Monday 9:00-10:00

    July 1981-September 1983   Wednesday 10:00-11:00

    September 1983-May 1984   Wednesday 9:00-10:00

    August 1984-May 1986   Wednesday 9:00-10:00

    September 1986-May 1987   Wednesday 9:00-10:00

    September 1987-March 1988   Wednesday 10:00-11:00

    November 1988-May 1989    Wednesday 10:00-11:00

    FURTHER READING

    "The Best Prime-time Soaps." TV Guide (Radnor, Pennsylvania), 17 April 1993.

    Dynasty: The Authorized Biography of the Carringtons. Introduction by Esther Shapiro. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1984.

    Feuer, Jane. "Reading Dynasty: Television and Reception Theory." South Atlantic Quarterly (Durham, North Carolina), Spring 1989.

    Geraghty, Christine. Women and Soap Opera: A Study of Prime Time Soaps. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity, 1991.

    Gripsrud, Jostein. "The Dynasty-Event in Norway: The Role of Print Media." Edda: Nordisk Tidsskrift for Litteraturforskning/Scandinavian Journal of Literary Research (Dragvoll, Norway), 1989.

    _______________. The Dynasty Years: Hollywood Television and Critical Media Studies. London and New York: Routledge, 1995.

    _______________. "Toward a Flexible Methodology in Studying Media Meaning: Dynasty in Norway." Critical studies in Mass Communication (Annandale, Virginia), 1990.

    Schroder, Kim Christian. "The Playful Audience: The Continuity of the Popular Cultural Tradition in America." The Dolphin: Publications of the English Department, University of Aarhus (Aarhus, Denmark), 1989.

    White, Mimi. "Women, Memory and Serial Melodrama." Screen, (Oxford, U.K.), Winter 1994.

    Thumbnail of Diahann Carroll

    Diahann Carroll on joining the cast of Dynasty

    02:41
    Thumbnail of Aaron Spelling

    Aaron Spelling on fighting the network to get storylines on Dynasty

    01:54
    Thumbnail of John Forsythe

    John Forsythe on the popularity of Dynasty

    02:22
    Thumbnail of Nolan Miller

    Nolan Miller on the Dynasty line of clothes

    05:07
    Thumbnail of Esther Shapiro

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the development and pilot of Dynasty  

    02:58
    Thumbnail of Douglas S. Cramer

    Douglas S. Cramer on developing Dynasty and casting Joan Collins as "Alexis Carrington Colby"

    10:15

    Howard Anderson, Jr.

    Howard Anderson Jr. on creating the opening titles for Dynasty

    00:26

    Alan Ball

    Alan Ball on loving Dynasty and Knots Landing

    00:19

    Bruce Bilson

    Bruce Bilson directing Dynasty

    05:13

    Diahann Carroll

    Diahann Carroll on the essence of the creation of her Dynasty character Dominique Deveraux

    00:28

    Diahann Carroll on joining the cast of Dynasty

    02:41

    Bill Conti

    Bill Conti on writing the theme/main title to an Esther and Richard Shapiro script called Oil, later known as Dynasty

    07:51

    Douglas S. Cramer

    Douglas S. Cramer on developing Dynasty and casting Joan Collins as "Alexis Carrington Colby"

    10:15

    Douglas S. Cramer on the controversial storylines of Dynasty

    04:11

    Jeannie Epper

    Jeannie Epper on being stunt double for Linda Evans in the famous catfight scene on Dynasty

    01:34

    John Forsythe

    John Forsythe on being cast as "Blake Carrington" on Dynasty

    01:27

    John Forsythe on the premise of Dynasty

    02:50

    John Forsythe on working with Joan Collins as "Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter" on Dynasty

    01:40

    John Forsythe on working with Linda Evans as "Krystle Carrington" on Dynasty 

    00:56

    John Forsythe on the cast of Dynasty

    06:02

    John Forsythe on the producers of Dynasty and the plots of the show

    02:14

    John Forsythe on the sets of Dynasty

    01:11

    John Forsythe on the popularity of Dynasty

    02:22

    John Forsythe on shooting Dynasty

    01:14

    John Forsythe on the decline in quality of Dynasty and on the spin-off The Colbys

    04:04

    John Forsythe on the 1991 Dynasty reunion

    00:37

    Gerald Fried

    Gerald Fried on composing for Dynasty

    02:14

    David Jacobs

    David Jacobs on Dynasty as a perfect representation of Reagan's 2nd term

    02:09

    Russell Johnson

    Russell Johnson on appearing on Dynasty

    01:03

    Rita Lakin

    Rita Lakin on turning down Dallas, and on her very short stint on Dynasty

    02:26

    Nancy Malone

    Nancy Malone on becoming a series director on Dynasty and working with Esther Shapiro and Linda Evans

    47:08

    Nancy Malone on directing the 100th anniversary of Dynasty with the help of DP Michel Hugo; on working with Joan Collins

    37:05

    Nolan Miller

    Nolan Miller on how Dynasty was first described to him and on Joan Collins joining the cast as "Alexis Carrington" in season 2

    07:27

    Nolan Miller on costuming John Forsythe as "Blake Carrington" on Dynasty

    00:41

    Nolan Miller on costuming Linda Evans as "Krystle Carrington" on Dynasty

    01:58

    Nolan Miller on costuming Joan Collins as "Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan" on Dynasty

    02:33

    Nolan Miller on costuming Heather Locklear as "Sammy Jo Carrington" on Dynasty

    00:24

    Nolan Miller on costuming Diahann Carroll as "Dominique Deveraux" on Dynasty and working with the budget of the show

    03:40

    Nolan Miller on costuming Pamela Sue Martin as "Fallon Carrington," Jack Coleman as "Steven Carrington," and John James as "Jeff Colby" on Dynasty

    01:54

    Nolan Miller on costuming Michael Nader as "Dex Dexter" on Dynasty

    02:05

    Nolan Miller on costuming Catherine Oxenberg as "Amanda Carrington" on Dynasty

    00:38

    Nolan Miller on costuming Rock Hudson and Ali MacGraw on Dynasty

    03:34

    Nolan Miller on designing clothes for special events like weddings and galas on Dynasty

    04:11

    Nolan Miller on the most expensive gowns on Dynasty

    02:09

    Nolan Miller on Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer's day-to-day roles in the production of Dynasty

    01:12

    Nolan Miller on the process of creating an outfit for Dynasty

    02:56

    Nolan Miller on working with Joan Collins on Dynasty

    00:50

    Nolan Miller on the process of making outfits for Dynasty

    05:23

    Nolan Miller on costuming "Alexis" and "Krystle" for their infamous catfight scenes on Dynasty

    02:24

    Nolan Miller on the Dynasty line of clothes

    05:07

    Nolan Miller how Dynasty impacted his life and career

    01:22

    Nolan Miller on a sketch of a Joan Collins dress from Dynasty

    00:35

    Nolan Miller on a photo of him on the set of Dynasty with sketches for the actresses

    00:14

    Nolan Miller on a photo of him with the women of Dynasty; on a photo of him with Linda Evans and Barbara Stanwyck on the set of Dynasty

    00:38

    Nolan Miller on a photo of him at a Dynasty party

    00:32

    Nolan Miller on a photo of him with Linda Evans on the set of Dynasty; on a photo of Joan Collins on the set of Dynasty

    00:50

    Nolan Miller on a photo of him with Ali MacGraw on the set of the Royal Wedding scene on Dynasty

    00:28

    Lori Openden

    Lori Openden on casting the CW reboot of Dynasty

    00:41

    Ralph Senensky

    Ralph Senensky on his role in the creation of Dynasty

    14:56

    Esther Shapiro

    Esther Shapiro on her fashion inspiration for Dynasty

    00:45

    Esther Shapiro on balancing her executive duties while still working on Dynasty

    00:33

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Linda Evans' character "Krystle Carrington" on Dynasty

    00:56

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star John James

    01:02

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Pamela Sue Martin and her character "Fallon Carrington Colby" and Emma Samms, the second actress to portray the character

    02:45

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Jack Coleman ("Steven Carrington")

    02:43

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Gordon Thomson ("Adam Carrington")

    00:38

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Heather Locklear ("Sammy Jo Dean Carrington")

    01:56

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Diahann Carroll ("Dominique Deveraux")

    02:59

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on production on Dynasty

    02:36

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the producers of Dynasty

    01:25

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on audience reaction to Dynasty and the show's popularity overseas

    03:05

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on merchandizing on Dynasty

    03:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the catfights between "Alexis" and "Krystle" on Dynasty

    01:18

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on memorable storylines on Dynasty

    01:09

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on memorable storylines on Dynasty - on "Steven Carrington's" homosexuality

    02:10

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on "Steven Carrington's" homosexuality on Dynasty

    01:15

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Rock Hudson's kiss with Linda Evans on Dynasty

    02:33

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Moldavian Wedding Massacre on Dynasty

    01:32

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on notes from the network on Dynasty

    00:50

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on their favorite storylines and episodes of Dynasty

    01:25

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on why Dynasty ended

    01:13

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Dynasty reunion

    00:39

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the success of Dynasty and how it affected them

    00:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the legacy of Dynasty

    01:05

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Dynasty collection at Marshall Field's

    00:44

    Esther Shapiro on Aaron Spelling wanting to work with her and Richard Shapiro and starting to develop Dynasty

    01:09

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the idea for Dynasty

    03:33

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the pilot for Dynasty

    00:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the title of Dynasty

    01:10

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Aaron Spelling's involvement with Dynasty

    02:37

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on differences between Dallas and Dynasty

    01:00

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on how Dynasty  reflected the 1980s

    01:38

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the development and pilot of Dynasty  

    02:58

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the creation of Joan Collins' character ("Alexis Carrington") on Dynasty

    04:00

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the costumes of Dynasty  

    01:45

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the cast of Dynasty  

    03:49

    Richard Shapiro

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Linda Evans' character "Krystle Carrington" on Dynasty

    00:56

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star John James

    01:02

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Pamela Sue Martin and her character "Fallon Carrington Colby" and Emma Samms, the second actress to portray the character

    02:45

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Jack Coleman ("Steven Carrington")

    02:43

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Gordon Thomson ("Adam Carrington")

    00:38

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Heather Locklear ("Sammy Jo Dean Carrington")

    01:56

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Dynasty star Diahann Carroll ("Dominique Deveraux")

    02:59

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on production on Dynasty

    02:36

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the producers of Dynasty

    01:25

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on audience reaction to Dynasty and the show's popularity overseas

    03:05

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on merchandizing on Dynasty

    03:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the catfights between "Alexis" and "Krystle" on Dynasty

    01:18

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on memorable storylines on Dynasty

    01:09

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on memorable storylines on Dynasty - on "Steven Carrington's" homosexuality

    02:10

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on "Steven Carrington's" homosexuality on Dynasty

    01:15

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Rock Hudson's kiss with Linda Evans on Dynasty

    02:33

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Moldavian Wedding Massacre on Dynasty

    01:32

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on notes from the network on Dynasty

    00:50

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on their favorite storylines and episodes of Dynasty

    01:25

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on why Dynasty ended

    01:13

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Dynasty reunion

    00:39

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the success of Dynasty and how it affected them

    00:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the legacy of Dynasty

    01:05

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the Dynasty collection at Marshall Field's

    00:44

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the idea for Dynasty

    03:33

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the pilot for Dynasty

    00:55

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the title of Dynasty

    01:10

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on Aaron Spelling's involvement with Dynasty

    02:37

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on differences between Dallas and Dynasty

    01:00

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on how Dynasty reflected the 1980s

    01:38

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the development and pilot of Dynasty

    02:58

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the creation of Joan Collins' character ("Alexis Carrington") on Dynasty

    04:00

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the costumes of Dynasty

    01:45

    Richard and Esther Shapiro on the cast of Dynasty

    03:49

    Doris Singleton

    Doris Singleton on her role on Dynasty

    02:33

    Mark Snow

    Mark Snow on composing for Dynasty and being fired because Douglas S. Cramer didn't like his work

    01:28

    Aaron Spelling

    Aaron Spelling on fighting the network to get storylines on Dynasty

    01:54

    Aaron Spelling on Dynasty

    08:36

    Aaron Spelling on Dynasty going off the air

    00:49

    Fred Steiner

    Fred Steiner on scoring episodes of Dynasty

    01:02

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