- 1 hour ago
TV We Love - Season 1 Episode 6 -
Dynasty
Dynasty
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:01The golden age of television.
00:03I Love Lucy didn't just change American television.
00:06It invented American television.
00:08Back when one screen brought everyone together.
00:11Watching television was a family event.
00:14The shows that shaped us.
00:16The Brady Bunch was part of the American soul.
00:19It's timeless.
00:21The familiar faces.
00:23Ralph Cramden was loved by the honeymooners.
00:27He was a presence.
00:28The unforgettable moments.
00:30Dynasty captured the essence of what the 1980s were about in America.
00:34These are their stories.
00:35Cheers is the pinnacle of how great the sitcom can be.
00:38This is TV We Love.
00:48It's 1981.
00:50Reagan is sworn into office and ushers in a whole new era for America.
00:55This decade, it's called an eruption, was probably epitomized by Dynasty.
01:01Dynasty could not have been more perfectly timed.
01:03Bigger, bolder, brasher, and unapologetically 80s.
01:08I require one bedroom for my wardrobe and one for myself.
01:11Dynasty also starred powerful women.
01:14They looked great and they dressed great.
01:17The country becomes Dynasty obsessed.
01:20Joan Collins is one of the most photographed and written about people in the world.
01:25As it morphs into a cultural phenomenon.
01:28100 million people a week globally watch the show.
01:31The world was Dynasty mad.
01:33The early 80s were an interesting time.
01:40Primetime soaps were a relatively new phenomenon.
01:43Dallas is an enormous breakthrough in that it brings the idea of the continuing storyline to primetime television in a hit show.
01:52All the other networks, the two other networks, I should say, NBC and ABC wanted their own version of Dallas.
01:57Where do we get one of those?
01:59ABC went to Aaron Spelling and said, give me a Dallas.
02:05Aaron Spelling was a mega hit producer who worked on shows like Charlie's Angels, Fantasy Island.
02:11He really figured out the formula for nighttime soap operas.
02:17ABC knew how important Aaron Spelling was and certainly he was one of the most important producers of that era.
02:27Esther Shapiro and her husband brought a script to Aaron and he said, I think we can really work with this.
02:35Dallas was already on the air.
02:37They were on a ranch, they wore ranch clothes, but Aaron wanted this totally elegant.
02:42We began thinking of a series that had everything that you're not supposed to put on television.
02:47Rich people, the Midwest, older women particularly, strong, powerful, lots of business, entrepreneur, greed, opulence.
02:57At one time, the title of the show was Oil. We talked about that a lot.
03:02Lo and behold, the Shapiros came up with a title called Dynasty that I just loved.
03:06I think that said everything. They did a tremendous job. We worked together, but I give full credit for Dynasty to them.
03:15When Dynasty premiered, I really remarked on quite how different it was from Dallas.
03:21It really was this upstairs, downstairs drama focusing on the ultra-wealthy Carringtons who were led by Blake Carrington, an oil tycoon.
03:31The storytelling, which I found was so ratcheted up on Dynasty. It's more verbal. It's more visual. It just was more catchy.
03:40My agent sent me the script for the pilot. I said, well, I don't really want to do television. I envision myself as having a film career at that time.
03:52And he said, no, it's just a pilot. Just do it. It won't be any big deal.
03:57And sell me into the harem of a chic for three barrels of crude and a box of cigars.
04:02The audition was like a film audition. They had it at a soundstage. They had a real film camera. They had a director. It was a big deal.
04:09I got a call late that day and said, you got the part. Playing Steven Carrington. I also said, you know, I'm rich, you know, because I was making like, I don't know, 300 bucks a week doing theater.
04:20It's like, wow. Okay. I can eat better.
04:24They said, we're picking it up for 13 shows and we're shooting a three hour pilot. It's like a three hour pilot. We barely shot one hour pilots.
04:34I show up. We shoot the whole thing with George Pappard as my father.
04:39George Pappard played my father initially. He wasn't getting along with the producers or maybe perhaps seemed sort of demanding.
04:46It was nuts. It was difficult. It was a very odd situation.
04:50George Pappard was a pain in the ass. George was not the team player.
04:55I introduced myself. He looked at me and went.
05:05That's what he said.
05:07And the next thing I know, he was being replaced with John Forsythe.
05:11You got to come back and shoot all those scenes again.
05:13John Forsythe was certainly well known to the spelling company and was well known to viewers as the voice of the film.
05:19Charlie and Charlie's Angels.
05:21Good morning, angels.
05:22Good morning, Charlie.
05:24And so they had a relationship with John Forsythe, who is the perfect choice.
05:29John Forsythe as Blake Carrington brought sort of an icy steel to his character and, you know, was very much in command.
05:36You do something about it. And don't bother me again with this business until it's finished.
05:40Whereas Linda Evans as Crystal, a little more warm, a little more embracing.
05:45I marry Blake because I love him. And because I want to make him happy.
05:51And together they just were this glamorous, iconic couple that you really enjoyed watching and seeing the yin and yang between the two.
05:58I love you even more tomorrow than I did yesterday.
06:01I love you too, darling.
06:03Linda Evans is just such a lovely person. She had her own personality. She had the angelic white blonde hair. She practically glowed with goodness.
06:13We are introduced to this world really through Crystal's eyes. She was like a young employee who fell in love with Blake.
06:24The show begins with the marriage of Blake and Crystal. And their romance really is the ultimate through line of the whole show.
06:34I will.
06:36It came on in mid-season, as they called it then, in January of 1981. It was the week of the presidential inauguration with Reagan.
06:44I, Ronald Reagan, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.
06:50And here comes this show that is big and bold and over the top and is going to end up embodying what we associate with Reaganism and with the 80s.
07:08Dynasty is very much a reflection of the Reagan era and conspicuous consumption and, you know, Wall Street and Gordon Gekko.
07:16Read it right.
07:17This decade, its golden eruption, was probably epitomized by Dynasty.
07:24I love Dynasty and I'm not afraid to admit that.
07:27I think it captured the essence of what the 1980s were about in America.
07:32Dynasty could not have been more perfectly timed.
07:35It was a way to just escape into this insane world of conspicuous consumption and money.
07:44Dynasty was not a white-hot hit when it premiered. It was, it, it did okay. And ABC obviously was being patient with it.
07:51Number 26 in the ratings is not the worst place to be. It's just not the top 20 where you're really guaranteed safe.
07:57I actually was on set a lot in the beginning. The sets on Dynasty were incredible. Everything had to be beautiful, opulent, what old Hollywood was.
08:10The caviar on set was generally real.
08:13Mmm. It's excellent caviar.
08:15The flowers were all real. They'd throw a spread on camera which was cracked crab and stuff and it would all be real and you could eat it.
08:22And tiny new potatoes with sour cream and caviar.
08:25I was a very new director. I had barely directed anything. I don't think I'd ever had caviar before I did the show. It was the first time I'd ever tasted caviar.
08:33Real crystal. Real chandeliers. I have one of them in my house, by the way. Real everything.
08:40We had, you know, Brinks people on set with some of the diamonds and the jewels and the furs and, you know, that was back when furs were real furs.
08:51The first episode they gave me was insane because the episode was surrounded a huge birthday party for one of the kids.
09:00And it was at a Pasadena estate and there were literally maybe 200 people there, extras, jugglers, clown people.
09:10And I freaked out when I read the script. Oh my God, how am I going to get this?
09:13But John Forsythe came up to me and he just said, this is amazing. We love you. This is great.
09:19And I thought, okay, I got through day one.
09:21Well, if it gets any bigger, you're going to have to rent the convention center downtown.
09:25Well, I thought of that. Or my football field.
09:27It was campy. It was fun. It was costumes.
09:32Can I drop you off somewhere?
09:34No, I have a date.
09:36I think if you look at daytime soaps or nighttime soaps, they all have a little camp in them.
09:42I married you because I made a deal with the devil.
09:44I asked you to wear the emerald necklace tonight.
09:47It was a big gay thing. The gay community loved it.
09:50I'm trying to find myself to sort out my life.
09:53The phrase used to be, I love you.
09:56I love Dynasty because of the dichotomy.
09:59Obviously, it's campy. It's flashy. It's fabulous.
10:03But it also is a very serious drama.
10:06Don't try to deny it, Blake Harrington. You had him beat up and I know it.
10:09If I did or I didn't, that's no concern of yours.
10:12Some of the issues that the show tackled were reproductive rights.
10:17Your abortion is set for Tuesday. A message I took for you. Pick up the phone and cancel it.
10:23Gay rights.
10:24I'm gay and I want you to face it.
10:27We pitched some very touching subject matter.
10:32I didn't ever see a gay character on television until that.
10:35The character of Steven was a seminal moment in television for gay men.
10:41What I am is somebody who's in love with a person.
10:44My interest was, that's something that I haven't seen. How am I going to do that?
10:49I thought it was special.
10:50If you ever really loved me the way I loved you, you'll understand.
10:55I think that without Steven, without Dynasty, their gay representation on television would have definitely been slower.
11:03Steven is gay.
11:05I got a lot of fan mail from gay men who said, you know, when I saw your show, finally there was a voice.
11:13Finally there was someone that I could relate to.
11:15Take care, buddy.
11:16You too, buddy.
11:17At the end of the first season, Blake Carrington attacks Steven Carrington's male lover, Ted Denard.
11:26Get your hands off my son.
11:28Dad, we were...
11:29I said get your hands off.
11:31Guys!
11:32No!
11:33No!
11:34No!
11:40And kills him.
11:41You killed him.
11:44The storyline of my father killing my lover, which was accidental, or was it?
11:52And that's sort of the play on it.
11:54I think it was a way to get into a court scene.
11:57People of the state of Colorado versus Blake Carrington.
12:00Steven Carrington, my character had to make a choice to defend his father or defend myself and my right to be gay.
12:09Blake's kind of the villain in that story.
12:10It made me confused as a viewer.
12:11Wait, am I supposed to like this guy?
12:13Because he's saying bad things to Steven, and yet he's so innately likable even when he's doing it.
12:18They wanted me to be a J.R. in Dallas figure, and I was opposed to that.
12:24The show needed a villain.
12:26Uh-oh.
12:27Blake's not bad enough.
12:28Who do we get?
12:29Your Honor, our witness has arrived.
12:31This was gonna be the villain for the 80s.
12:33Let's find somebody really big, really good.
12:35The hat arrived first.
12:47What's she doing here? What's going on?
12:59In the courtroom scene, when Alexis walks in for the very first time, it's actually an extra.
13:04My God, that's my mother.
13:07There was going to be either Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, that Aaron had wanted to play Alexis.
13:12Sophia Loren's husband came to meet with me in the office, and then he heard that we shot like eight pages a day.
13:20Is that true? We don't do that in a week.
13:23They turned it down, and it became Joan Collins.
13:29I'll tell you about Joan Collins. The network did not want her. He had to fight really hard for her.
13:35She had done a few B-movies. Aaron really fought for Joan.
13:40You know, and Joan comes in and is this just absolute boss, and I don't know that we'd ever seen the boss bitch done quite like that on network television.
13:49Would you state your full name, please?
13:52Alexis Morell Carrington.
13:54You were the first wife of the defendant, Blake Carrington. You're the mother of his children, is that correct?
13:59Yes, it is.
14:01When I saw her do the first scene, it was just perfect.
14:04There were threats made. Something about how my children might not recognize me if I tried to see them.
14:14Joan just took that character and just ran with it.
14:17When I need a trump card, I'm going to play it.
14:20Joan just liked hurling barbs at people.
14:24Still the impotent voyeur.
14:27Verbal assaults.
14:29You double-crossing scum.
14:31What she was absolutely brilliant at.
14:33You bitch!
14:35Shh!
14:36You're beginning to sound more and more like a fishwife.
14:38What?
14:41The whole idea of bringing Joan Collins in with that accent.
14:45There are two Mrs. Colbys now, you know.
14:48The way she wore clothes and that feeling she had, it was just perfect casting.
14:52You're even more beautiful and more ugly than that grand English lady I vaguely remember.
14:58Joan Collins obviously added a huge element to Dynasty once she arrived and became one of the best villains in television history.
15:05I'm glad to see that your father had your teeth fixed, if not your tongue.
15:11And she played my real mother.
15:13Hello, Steven.
15:16Hello.
15:17Who is that person?
15:18Who is that character?
15:19Who is that actress?
15:20People always go, what's Joan Collins?
15:22Is that really a bitch?
15:23No, she's not.
15:24She can be, but she's offensive fundamentally not.
15:28Soap operas have to cheat their storytelling so often.
15:31Because you want to cast an actor, a hot young actor, well, who's that actor going to play?
15:35A long lost child.
15:37You're my son.
15:40I remember doing my screen test.
15:42And she had just emerged from the stage door.
15:45Oh, Miss Collins, I'm Gordon Thompson.
15:47Thinking back on it, astonishing that one of the enormous stars of this now very successful series was going to do a screen test with a complete unknown.
16:02One of my lines was that my real name was Adam Alexander Carrington.
16:11It was an enormous trait.
16:12So you'd think I would know that you got the job.
16:16It went very well.
16:17It's a welcome home, you darling.
16:19When I started, I was really a gopher.
16:23I was terrified of Joan.
16:24Before I had even met her, I was told to go in her dressing room with sketches, sitting in her dressing room.
16:30And she came off set, not in the best of moods.
16:34And I was there, and she turned around, and she started screaming.
16:38And I'm trying to tell her, I'm here to show you sketches, but she kept screaming and screaming.
16:42All of a sudden, the door flew open, and it was Heather Locklear.
16:45And I said, I'm trying to, I'm here to see Joan and show her sketches.
16:48And she said, honey, Joan's not here today.
16:50It's only Alexis.
16:51You don't love Joan.
16:53You're kind of a little afraid of Joan.
16:55But you're fascinated by Joan.
16:57Dynasty was not a huge hit until Alexis showed up.
17:01I do as I please.
17:02I always have and I always will.
17:04It was interesting to see it suddenly go, you know what, we've kind of found our lane here.
17:08And our lane is not kitchen sink drama.
17:11It's opera.
17:18If you want a rematch, just whistle.
17:21We have to talk about Alexis and Crystal's big cat fight that went right into the lily pond.
17:28You miserable bitch.
17:34Once Dynasty established that there would be physical cat fights between women,
17:38that was something audiences were tuning in for.
17:41Will this week be one of the weeks where they, you know, Alexis and Crystal dive into the lily pond?
17:45Oh, no!
17:46They were wet constantly, like drenched.
17:51And I know it wasn't easy for them, but watching it was just so much fun.
17:55Linda was very physical and loved fighting.
17:58And Joan was not.
18:01With the cat fights, I think they were like a drug.
18:03And next week's cat fight has to be that much crazier that you have to up the dosage of that drug for the audience to make it stand out.
18:10There are many cat fights on Dynasty.
18:16I did one of them.
18:17They went down a muddy hill and then fought in mud.
18:22You stupid bitch!
18:25Look what you've done to this outfit!
18:27A lot of people that watched the show and knowing that there were Chanel suits,
18:31there was Nolan Miller suits, there were dresses.
18:34But we never, never, ever put a Nolan Miller suit in mud.
18:39So, rest assured, yes, the suits were safe!
18:43I'd rather concentrate on your outfit.
18:53It's rather becoming.
18:55Nolan Miller was one of, really, one of the superstars of Dynasty, whether people knew his name at the time or not.
19:01Nolan Miller had come to Hollywood in the 50s.
19:05The most auspicious thing that happened to him and happened to Aaron Spelling is that they met each other.
19:10And they formed this partnership.
19:12His dream was to be a couturier.
19:14And so I said, well, if I ever get a show, we'll do some costumes together.
19:18Nolan and Aaron's first big successful collaboration was The Love Boat.
19:23It was an excuse for Nolan to really swing for the fences and really design his dream gowns.
19:30And so, by the time Dynasty came around in 1981, The Love Boat had been on for three seasons.
19:35They were revving at top gear right from the start of Dynasty.
19:39When I first started with Nolan, it was crazy because nobody ever gave a budget.
19:46When I went fabric shopping or sourcing things, you know, do I have a limit of how much I can spend? No.
19:53The budget started out when I first was there at $15,000 a week.
19:57And then I was always over budget.
19:59And it was a problem.
20:00And Aaron talked to me.
20:01So he raised it to $25,000 a week.
20:04They don't care what they spend.
20:06It's a dream come true.
20:07You come in and they've got the finest everything for you to choose what you want to wear.
20:11Aaron, he was a master at detail.
20:14If an extra walked by and had the same color on as one of the principles, he absolutely, we have to reshoot this.
20:21There's been no show that I did before, during, or after that has ever had a budget like that for wardrobe.
20:29The clothes literally became one of the stars of the show.
20:36The 80s happened to be an explosion of fashion.
20:38That dynasty helped happen with those Nolan Miller designs.
20:41The shoulder pads and the hair got bigger and bigger and bigger as they tried to outdo themselves and be more and more glam and more and more aspirational.
20:50They were couture.
20:51Real haute couture.
20:53I salivated over those clothes.
20:55The clothes were sensational.
20:58With the chest was so damn glamorous.
21:01One of the fascinations about dynasty that causes millions of people to watch every week is the fashion.
21:08In the whole running of the show, the clothing were the only thing that actually won an Emmy.
21:14No actor ever won an Emmy, but Nolan won an Emmy for wardrobe.
21:18If you think about it, the cast of dynasty were basically influencers.
21:23They'll be able to dress like the characters of dynasty, smell like the characters of dynasty, and make their homes look like it.
21:28Dynasty star Joan Collins has her own jewelry collection.
21:32Nolan was asked numerously to create retail fashion lines.
21:38After the show began, Miller started receiving thousands of letters asking where viewers could buy the same kind of clothes on the show.
21:45He finally recreated a line for Bloomingdale's, which was epic.
21:50He made 101 classic outfits from the hit series available to high fashion fans everywhere.
21:58It was chaos at the store when they debuted the collection.
22:02The characters, they had all shown up, all the actors.
22:05It really was something.
22:06I really think that dynasty got it right in that it embraced the femaleness of it all.
22:11They wisely knew who their audience was and who was watching.
22:14The role of women on dynasty was an important issue.
22:17Almost from the beginning, they looked great and they dressed great.
22:20You know, they weren't, you know, in the kitchen or, you know, or taking the kids to school or taking them to soccer games.
22:27It wasn't really until dynasty that we had seen women in very powerful roles as CEOs of companies.
22:35If I do not get that approval, I shall fire you all on the spot.
22:40I don't think that just because Blake Carrington isn't here that I won't be keeping an eye on you.
22:44Every one of you.
22:46You are now working for me.
22:48I suppose they call it a bitch because it's a woman.
22:50If it was a man, they would call it a very dedicated career person who's strong and forceful.
22:54Um, but because it's a woman, they call her a bitch.
22:57What do you want, Miss Devereux?
22:59For now, not much really.
23:02When Diane Carroll joined dynasty as Dominique Devereux.
23:05From now on, every deal you make, every step you take, turn and look over your shoulder.
23:10Because sooner or later, I will be standing there.
23:14She broke the glass ceiling to some degree in representation, especially of black wealth and opulence.
23:20You're suing me.
23:22Exactly.
23:23And bringing a whole new level of storytelling to dynasty that we hadn't seen before on that show or really in television.
23:30Women are interested in seeing women look beautiful and be powerful and be smart.
23:34Joan was the first woman at age 50 that was put on the cover of Playboy magazine.
23:39Hugh Hefner approached her.
23:41She nervously said yes, did it.
23:44And so it really was a new chapter for women.
23:48And it was about a whole resurgence of beautiful women.
23:51Joan Collins is one of the most photographed and written about people in the world.
23:55It really morphed into a cultural phenomenon.
24:00We love the fact that we were all the magazine covers and everybody was talking about the show.
24:05And that we felt we were invincible.
24:07A hundred million people a week globally watched the show.
24:10The visibility was huge.
24:12The world was dynasty mad.
24:14Dynasty in Dallas became era-defining hits and were alternating with, you know, who could be number one and who could be number two in the primetime lineup.
24:22ABC's soap opera Dynasty finished on top of the Nielsen ratings last week.
24:26Nobody ever dreamt, I think, in their wildest dreams it was going to be as successful.
24:30Dynasty!
24:31Dynasty!
24:32Thank you very much.
24:35I want to thank Sophia Loren for turning down the part.
24:41And thank you very much indeed.
24:43Very, very grateful.
24:44The parties they threw got fancier.
24:46The hair got bigger.
24:47The shoulder pads got bigger.
24:48The cars got fancier.
24:49Up over the mountain to Encino to the hot club where a big party is going on.
24:54They had dynasty parties on the night that Dynasty showed.
24:58And they'd all watch it together and scream at the same scenes.
25:01What gave you the idea to throw the party?
25:03There was this whole kind of thing going on in America of everybody having dynasty parties on Wednesday night.
25:08You know, if so-and-so says a certain line, you know, you gotta chug a beer.
25:13Everybody sort of got into this sort of dynasty fever.
25:16And we would all go to gay bars in West Hollywood the night of the show.
25:20And it was great because we sort of saw it with the fans.
25:26I think one of the downsides of dynasty becoming a huge success is that there was a lot more pressure on the show to become more mainstream and shy away from some of the more controversial storylines.
25:37And as a result, they pulled back quite a bit from some of those storylines that were real landmarks of dynasty early on.
25:44Where would you like for me to put the money?
25:54Come on, don't tell me this is your first time with a hooker.
25:57No, it wasn't.
25:58It's interesting, the early episodes of dynasty, they were a lot grittier.
26:03I wanted you to be a man.
26:05I am a man, just not your kind.
26:08Dynasty became a bit of a different show.
26:10It was less about business.
26:12It was less about the gritty storylines.
26:14Behind the scenes, there was always a lot of discussion about how gay Steven could be.
26:21They had a hard time, for whatever reason, committing to Steven just being completely gay.
26:29You said to me that it made you sick, me putting my hands on another man.
26:32Okay, I'm putting them on women.
26:34I remember being on the set across the table in a scene with my gay lover.
26:40And I reached over and I was gonna just put my hand on his hand in the scene.
26:46And someone from ABC came over and said, you can't do that.
26:49I said, what do you mean?
26:50And by the way, if you're gonna hug him, you have to either be saying goodbye or hello.
26:58That was surprising to me, it caught me off guard as an actor.
27:01Hi.
27:02Hi.
27:03How do you have a out gay character who can only maybe like touch and hug his partners?
27:11So they started exploring his relationships with other characters, specifically female characters.
27:18I'm Sammy Jo Dean, Crystal Carrington's niece.
27:21They decided to make him bisexual and they made him, he got married to Sammy Jo, Heather Locklear.
27:27You missed a really big opportunity here.
27:30Now it's like he's gay, he's not gay, you know, and it's redundant as an actor.
27:36If you're not willing to go in and go a little bit below the surface, even in a soap opera, what's the point of the character?
27:43So I was really disappointed, to be quite honest.
27:46When I showed my unhappiness with where the character was going, and I think they just said, you know, okay, well, fine.
27:54And I said, okay, fine, that was it.
27:57He didn't appreciate that, didn't think it was right, and as a result, ultimately left the show.
28:03Steven was first played by Al Corley, but when the actor complained about the show, he was killed off, then brought back by Jack Coleman.
28:09Good evening, Ben. You are trying to visualize what you will look like?
28:14I was on the phone with my mother, and all of a sudden, the operator came in and said, we have an emergency phone call from Howard Goldberg, my agent, and he said, you got it.
28:28He was on that unfortunate rig in the China Sea where there's the explosion, and Steven went from Al to me.
28:41You ready for a look?
28:43Thank you, Dr. Chen, for giving me a face I'll be able to live with.
28:49As you do, you survive an oil rig fire, and you come back with a new face.
28:55The immaculate surgery, and facial reconstruction without a scar, and perfectly coiffed hair, I might add.
29:02Steven!
29:05That was maybe one of the most dynasty things of all dynasty things.
29:09You know, I thought it was pretty silly, but under the circumstances, the character was popular in certain areas, so they really couldn't kill him off.
29:18What did end up happening with Steven is he did end up getting watered down, and I can't imagine that it was not the case that the timing of the HIV-AIDS epidemic had a lot to do with it.
29:29A mystery disease known as the gay plague has become an epidemic unprecedented in the history of American medicine.
29:35The first reports I ever saw, and I think that ever aired, about something that was then called GRID, gay-related immunodeficiency, were in 1981.
29:43When AIDS was first discovered more than two years ago, it was sometimes called the gay plague.
29:48That's because virtually all of the victims were homosexual.
29:52GRID became named HIV-AIDS.
29:54It appeared a year ago in New York's gay community.
29:57Suddenly, gay sex was dangerous. Gay romance led to something dangerous, and we had to pull back.
30:04We were all afraid.
30:0570% of its victims are gay men.
30:07The deadly disease has been mostly striking homosexual men.
30:11Thousands of people in this country have AIDS.
30:13This is not a political issue. This is a health issue. This is not a gay issue. This is a human issue.
30:19The irony is that Dynasty would eventually be at the heart of that controversy of HIV-AIDS with its Rock Hudson storyline.
30:26Rock Hudson was cast on the show, and it was in the middle of AIDS.
30:32I have a rule. I never go after anything that can't be taken.
30:35Does that rule hold only for companies? Does it apply to wives as well?
30:41Rock came on the set, and first of all, I was thrilled to be working with him.
30:47He was sick at the time, and I felt very bad. He was very thin.
30:54We certainly knew early on in the show that something was not right with him, and he was very weak and very gaunt and pale.
31:02In Dynasty, there were scenes where Rock Hudson's character kisses Crystal, Linda Evans' character.
31:08I don't think Rock Hudson had come out as gay or that he had AIDS at the time.
31:15Mr. Rock Hudson has acquired immune deficiency syndrome, which was diagnosed over a year ago.
31:27We were told by a lot of medical people that AIDS can be transmitted that way by kissing.
31:34And I just so scared for Linda.
31:38When it came out that Rock Hudson, you know, had AIDS and that he had kissed Linda Evans on Dynasty,
31:44I think everybody wondered why he would do that.
31:49In those days, no one knew a damn thing about AIDS, and it was panic time.
32:03I don't sense a feeling of panic on the soundstage, but I think it's very frightening how people are taking this.
32:09The way she handled it in the press was the way she handled it in private.
32:13And she just said, I'm not worried about that.
32:15Linda Evans was an enormously good sport about it. She took his side.
32:19I think she was incredibly courageous in showing the world how to be, I'm tearing up,
32:24in how to be gracious about this disease and not be freaked out and not blame or stigmatize someone who had the disease.
32:31As for Rock, his role on Dynasty would prove to be his last.
32:35He returned home from Paris, and in a matter of weeks, the one-time robust and powerful screen legend was gone.
32:41I just recently realized that he died the same year that he was working on our show.
32:49I think it was really important.
32:51We were hobnobbing with high-ranking members of the Republican Party in a way that, you know, you couldn't be ignored.
33:01You know, Ronald Reagan didn't mention the word AIDS until, I think, year seven of his eight years in office.
33:07We will, I will, do all that God gives us the power to do to find a cure for AIDS.
33:13In a way, it actually educated the public a little bit more and brought this conversation to the forefront
33:20as people were just learning what it meant to both be HIV positive and also be contracted with AIDS.
33:26I'm very proud of the work that Dynasty accidentally did on the HIV-AIDS front.
33:32I'm worried about you being out in that kind of a world.
33:36You're talking about AIDS, right?
33:38I'm talking about a disease that kills.
33:40Dad, I'm as aware of the problem as you are.
33:43Dynasty stayed on top for as many years as it did by being bigger, bolder, brasher.
33:52Oh, my God!
33:54It was strange. It was almost like as it started climbing into this great success,
33:59it became a campy version of itself.
34:01So, a storyline that might have played out in season one is going to be amped up
34:06if you're doing anything like it in season six.
34:08I know her.
34:10It was totally over the top and it knew it.
34:14Earnest in its over the top nests.
34:19Bitch!
34:21My favorite example of this, I think it was called the Royal Wedding.
34:25Sun will shine on a happy bride after all.
34:28Amanda Carrington, brilliantly played by Katherine Oxenberg.
34:33She's getting married to the Prince of Moldavia.
34:37There is apparently unrest in the kingdom.
34:41And there are terrorists who want to take down the monarchy.
34:44And what better place to do that but at Amanda's wedding?
34:47I thee wed.
34:49Let us pray in peace.
34:54Dr. King!
34:55Amanda!
34:56Oh, my God!
34:57My baby!
34:58Who Shot J.R. had been done five years earlier
35:03and was celebrated as one of the great stunts of all time.
35:15Who Shot J.R. had been a brilliant moment in American television.
35:20Dynasty, we'll top that.
35:23We're going to end the season with Who Shot the entire cast of Dynasty.
35:28Take that, Dallas.
35:30There's almost a pyramid-like pile of carnage.
35:34And of course, the next season, most of them get up and do one of these things.
35:38No, my wife and my family are in there. I've got to get in there.
35:41So, lazy, pulling fast one, cheating, all horrible things they do to the audience.
35:48But it was so much fun while it lasted.
35:52The scripts on Dynasty, generally speaking, left something to be desired.
35:56Like, Moldavia? Where is Aaron Spelling?
35:59He says, but this wonderful producer, and he let all this crap happen?
36:04A friend of mine who was an associate producer wasn't allowed to say it, but she told me.
36:10At the writers' meeting, Esther and her husband Richard Shapiro, who invented the show,
36:16writers' meeting, Esther shows up, first person who laughs is fired.
36:20Richard has had a vision.
36:24Aliens.
36:29Aliens!
36:31What a load of . Pardon me. Pure .
36:34The idea was ludicrous and laughable.
36:37I was going crazy with some of those scripts and with some of those plot lines. I just thought they were awful.
36:42When we got into Aliens, that felt pretty sharky-jumpy.
36:46It destroyed the show.
36:47It had competition, too. Other shows, of course, newer, shinier shows came around.
36:55I remember approaching the set for some reason with Aaron.
37:01And he said, well, we're still alive.
37:03He said, okay, I didn't realize we're dying.
37:06I think two weeks later, we were canceled.
37:07Blake!
37:21Joan Collins was pushed off a balcony, Linda Evans was in a coma, and John Forsyth was shot.
37:27When the show was abruptly canceled, angry fans demanded to know what happened to their characters.
37:32I thought it was very unfair to end the series with fans, with everybody up in the air.
37:36It would be nice to end it with some definitive thing, to know what happened to the people, and to do it with some kind of dignity.
37:46The ninth season of Dynasty ended up being the last. They didn't know that.
37:51So there were still a lot of loose threads when the show ended that eventually would be resolved when they did a reunion miniseries later on.
37:58Yes, it's true. The family you love to watch stab each other in the back is back.
38:02They felt they owed it to the fans who had watched Dynasty throughout the years.
38:06It all eventually got resolved in that reunion special, which wrapped it up in a nice bow around a package.
38:12Hi, Dad. Hello, son.
38:19Alexis?
38:23Oh, my God.
38:24Isn't it interesting that Dynasty stayed on top for almost exactly the length of the Reagan administration?
38:29It started in 1981 with the inauguration month, and it ended in 1989. The 90s were about to dawn.
38:39I, George Herbert Walker Bush, do solemnly swear.
38:43Maybe we shouldn't be about greed, and we shouldn't be about eating cake for dinner.
38:48I look back on it now, you know, it was a kind of a cultural thing. It was a kind of product of the time. It was a good show for what it was.
38:56Richard and Esther Shapiro made an attempt to break some ground, you know, and I think they did. So I'm really proud of that part of it.
39:04It was so intense. Those nine years were so amazing. I wouldn't have given them up for anything in the world. It was an extraordinary thing to experience.
39:15Dynasty has become somewhat iconic.
39:19And I think I'd quite like to be remembered for having given a lot of people a lot of pleasure and laughs.
39:27It did not take anything that seriously. And I think that's why people watch television then and now is to escape.
39:38Total escapism and also the American dream. Come to America and you could be a billionaire.
39:45The legacy of Dynasty for me, obviously, is the fashion. I wish Nolan could be here today because he would be so proud.
39:54Having dressed Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Joan Collins is why over time Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, everybody would come to me because I was there.
40:05And I owe that to Nolan. I owe that to Dynasty. I owe it to Aaron Spelling, Joan Collins. I owe it to everybody.
40:12When you think about history, there are lots of dynasties. That's where the name comes from. Like, look at the Kardashians.
40:19They basically are another version of the Carringtons. Super successful, super well-known, rich, and don't really care what anybody thinks about them.
40:29Being surrounded by, like, opulence and a dirty martini and a crystal glass and fabulous s*** everywhere.
40:37That is definitely leftover from Dynasty.
40:40Dynasty made it okay to flaunt your wealth. Made the people who weren't wealthy think that's what wealthy people do and should do.
40:45Literally, I will literally s*** you up.
40:48The idea of, you know, kind of the cat fight, you know, the claws out.
40:52I asked you something.
40:54Well, here's your answer.
40:58I've worked with all the Kardashians. They love Dynasty. Kris Jenner lived for Dynasty.
41:03So you can see that when you look at them dressing today to what was happening on Dynasty, it's pretty parallel.
41:12Succession probably owes a little tip of the hat to the rich, miserable people.
41:18Money wins.
41:20Every decade has had its TV shows about how messed up rich people are. And people love that. They love that.
41:27Because let's face it, there's only this many rich people and everybody else is in this group.
41:32I think Dynasty's greatest legacy is when you think the 80s, you think Dynasty.
41:38This was a show that was pure Reaganomics. It was pure greed. It was pure go-go, greed is good, early 80s nonsense that definitely doesn't hold up today.
41:49But it's a fun snapshot of an era that's now long past.
42:19Now we think there's you.
42:23One of the few things is that you feel about eating.
42:27Looking here.
42:29Someone watching.
42:31Two, one or two cars.
42:37Peteruras and told you about the wrong thing best to try and choose from or learn something.
42:43Even when you cry and look, it's not negative.
Recommended
42:31
|
Up next
42:26
1:37
0:12
41:31
0:30
42:48
42:47
44:04
1:12:15
38:42
1:12:53
Be the first to comment