A few thoughts to add on this classic series: I was hooked from the very first episode, when Blake was driving his limo across the estate and Fallon raced him on her horse and got thrown. She got dirty and wet, so she put on Blake's sport coat when he stopped to help her. Then she got back on the horse and rode it to the stable, presumably WEARING NOTHING BUT THE COAT!!! Daddy's girl indeed, clearly this was like nothing that had ever aired before! The elaborate, preposterous plot twists, like Adam's using poison paint on Jeff's wall, were all part of the fun. The Moldavian massacre was brilliant -- practically Shakesperean as the camera pulled back to show a heap of bodies, worthy of Hamlet or MacBeth. There were however some major miscalculations, such as Emma Samms' replacing the brilliantly snippy Pamela Sue Martin. The less said about her the better. Than there was the plot twist (Steven's disappearance) that had Fallon become buddies with Krystal. "OH Krystal!" she wailed as they embraced. This was a really, really bad turn. The tension between those two had been one of the few things that made Krystal even moderately interesting. And it made Fallon seem dull once she teamed up with Krystal. Yecchh. Then there was Blake's evolution from a heavy into a wooden, semi-decent dullard. This, as I understand, was at John Forsythe's behest, as he didn't want to play such a heavy. MISTAKE! Bringing in new characters wasn't always so awful, I don't think. Adam became one of the show's most fun, interesting villains. Often, the show's silliest bits were its best: Paul Burke, as Cong. McVane, dressed in full drag (with wig and gown) so that he'd be mistaken for Alexis if anyone spied him tossing tennis pro Mark off the balcony -- how can you not love that? And perhaps my favorite all time moment, which I still show at parties: Claudia (poor dear..) cornered on the roof with Fallon's baby (or so we thought). When she lurches away, the baby , in a long shot, flies out of the bunting , through the air, and the camera changes angle to just below the edge of the roof, looking UP, and you see the 'baby' , in SLO MO, yet, sailing through the air, down towards the camera! WOW!!!! (No dead baby jokes here, it turned out to be a doll. Claudia really was whacked at the time...) Sigh. I miss it all , even with the tapes. The latter years weren't worth much, but those first five seasons or so were unmatched. I disagree wholeheartedly that it was only good for a year or 2 before going down the tubes.
