'' was a
Primetime Television Soap Opera that aired from
December 27 ,
1979 to
May 13 ,
1993 on
CBS and was at that time the second longest-running
Primetime drama on U.S.
TV , after
"Gunsmoke" . Set in the fictional "Knots Landing," a small community on the
California coast, and initially centered around the lives of four married couples residing in a
Cul-de-sac called Seaview Circle; two of these characters, Gary and Valene Ewing, were
Spun Off from CBS' hit series
''Dallas'' .
''Knots Landing'' was created by
David Jacobs (one-time writer of ''
Family '') and
Michael Filerman , who were initially rebuffed by
CBS in 1978, as the network instead created the more glamorous
''Dallas'' . After ''Dallas'' became a hit, CBS asked Jacobs to revisit ''Knots Landing'', hoping to find similar success. The series was based on the 1973
Ingmar Bergman movie, ''
Scenes From A Marriage '', but with four marriages. Though initially not very popular, ''Knots Landing'' would progress through fourteen seasons and would win much critical acclaim. ''Knots Landing'' originally began with ''Dallas'' characters Gary and Valene Ewing moving from Texas to the California cul-de-sac that would house the show’s main characters for the next fourteen seasons.
Years after the show ended, in 1997, the cast reunited for a two-part television movie called ''''.
Gary Ewing was the middle Ewing son and the
Black Sheep of the Ewing family. An alcoholic whose father and older brother J.R. had never treated as an equal, the insecure Gary married and then left Valene when he was 17 years old and she was 15 years old. With Gary gone, J.R. had Valene followed and run out of town as he took her daughter (with Gary) away from her. Years later, Valene and Lucy reconnected and this caused Valene and Gary to reunite. They remarried and Gary's mother Miss Ellie bought the couple a house in California. Lucy visited Knots Landing only once during the first season, and was rarely mentioned during subsequent seasons.
13 Episodes (1-13)
Nielsen Ranking: #30
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Upon arriving in
Brady Bunch ;” Richard and Laura Avery, the struggling couple; and Kenny and Ginger Ward, the clueless newlyweds. In the show's first episode, which aired on
December 27 ,
1979 on CBS, a giddy Valene, still with a thick southern accent, ran on the
Beach , proclaiming that she’d never before seen the
Ocean . Valene, ashamed she had not achieved the education level of her friends and neighbors, studied to get her diploma.
Gary took a job at Sid’s car shop, Knots Landing Motors. He did such a good job that in the season finale, he was promoted. Unfortunately, Gary got drunk at his promotion party, causing a
Binge in the two-part season finale, “Bottom of the Bottle.” Meanwhile, Ginger caught her record producer husband, Kenny, cheating on her with a singer, Sylvie (
Louise Vallance ), and broke up with him. When Richard wanted to borrow
Money from Laura's
Father , Laura allowed him on the condition that Richard let her go to work. Richard was forced to relent, and Laura saw that she did not have to live by her husband's rules all the time.
18 Episodes (14-31)
Nielsen Ranking: #28
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Knots Landing came back in season two with the introduction of Sid Fairgate’s
Sister Abby. Abby was 14 years his junior, and he’d always been oblivious of her scheming ways, but Karen was suspicious of almost everything Abby did. When Abby took a job at Knots Landing Motors, she helped Gary out of a bind with
Mobsters by going to his brother J.R. Ewing (
Larry Hagman ). Abby also went out of her way to make sure Val found out Gary was cheating on her with Judy Trent (
Jane Elliott ), the attractive wife of a man he was sponsoring in
Alcoholics Anonymous , Earl Trent (
Paul Rudd ). Even though Abby set her sights on Gary, she temporarily settled for Richard, taking no great effort to conceal the affair from Laura, who took on a career in real estate and began a flirtation with her boss, Scooter Warren (
Allan Miller ). Abby abruptly dumped Richard when her husband Jeff Cunningham (
Barry Jenner ) threatened to take her
Children away, setting the precedent that men were rather disposable to her. Viewers discovered exactly how scheming Abby could be when the women of Knots Landing held a baby shower for Ginger and were interrupted by criminals who held them hostage; Abby seduced one of the thugs, helping to save them. Abby preceded Alexis Carrington on "Dynasty" as TV's first lead villainess by more than a year.
Ginger began dating the father of one of her students while separated from Kenny, but took Kenny back upon discovering that she was
Pregnant . When Sid discovered the
Car parts Gary and Abby had been buying were actually stolen, his
Brakes were disconnected in order to keep him from testifying to this in
Court . Season Two ended with Sid Fairgate’s car going off a
Cliff .
22 Episodes (32–53)
Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Produced by: Joseph B. Wallenstein
Sid was
Paralyzed after his car went off the cliff. He asked Karen to sign papers allowing him to undergo life-risking
Surgery in order to re-gain use of his legs. Karen very reluctantly agreed to sign, a decision she would come to regret when the writers of "Knots Landing" made the shocking decision to kill off its leading male
Character . After Sid’s
Death , Karen was left a
Widow with three children. She took over Knots Landing Motors, firing Abby, but not Gary. Karen would be forced to hire Abby back due to the fact that Abby’s style of bookkeeping could not be easily deciphered.
Ginger became annoyed as Kenny refused to take interest in her aspirations as a singer. Valene attempted to forge a bond with her
Mother Lilimae, who moved in with her and Gary. Lilimae had all but abandoned her as a child in her hopes to be a country music singer. Laura began an affair with her boss Scooter after years of being unhappily married to Richard. She planned to leave Richard, but then discovered she was pregnant. She planned on aborting the pregnancy, but decided not to after Richard got physically violent. Richard was becoming the company
Pimp after being asked to supply entertainment by his boss for some clients at his lawfirm, a pattern that kept repeating itself. This was eventually revealed on the news, and Richard's
Employer denied any cooperation with him. After losing his job, Richard became depressed and had a
Nervous Breakdown . An incident erupted and Richard was sent to a
Mental Institution .
After Karen passed up the opportunity to fund a
Methanol -powered vehicle project, Gary and Abby devoted hours to making it work without her help. Abby made repeated passes at Gary, and finally they slept together. In the season finale, Valene discovered this, leaving the cul-de-sac in tears.
22 Episodes (54–75)
Nielsen Ranking: #20
Produced by: Peter Dunne
With the charges dropped against Sid Fairgate’s killers, an angry Karen marched into the office of federal
Prosecutor M. Patrick “Mack” McKenzie. Mack was as upset as Karen about it, and the two of them proceeded to bring the men to
Justice . Meanwhile, they fell in
Love , and married half-way through the season. Valene returned to Knots Landing a best-selling
Author , though it was bittersweet without Gary, who vacated the cul-de-sac along with his new girlfriend, Abby. Gary had inherited money after his father, Jock Ewing, died, and decided to go into the record business. He teamed up with Kenny, producing the record of the beautiful Ciji Dunne.
Upon finding a
Suicide Note at the cul-de-sac house, a guilty Laura decided to reconcile with Richard. Richard then proceeded to open a
Restaurant , Daniel (so named after their newborn son.) Abby financed the restaurant, and in a cross-promotion, proceeded to demand that Ciji sing there every night. Ginger resented Ciji, as Kenny spent a lot of time worrying about Ciji’s career and almost no time at all on Ginger’s. Laura and Ciji became best friends, which prompted the insecure Richard to fear the women were having a
Lesbian relationship.
Meanwhile, Valene’s publicist Chip Roberts played on the sympathies of Lilimae, who foolishly thought he was her soulmate, to let him live with them. Chip began dating Karen’s daughter Diana and Ciji at the same time, and panicked when he impregnated Ciji. He was also upset with Ciji after she discovered his true
Identity , Tony Fenice. In season four, Knots Landing, which had been a top 30 show during its first two seasons and barely top 40 after Sid's death, finally became a huge ratings success. The
Climax came when Ciji’s dead body washed up on the beach. Gary's life collapsed as he once agained turned to the bottle to escape his problems. However, this time things went from bad to worse when he woke up on the beach that the dead body of Ciji was discovered, and, of course, his drinking caused him not to remember anything of the night before. He was arrested for her murder, even though Val confessed to killing Ciji.
After Ciji’s death, Laura refused to forgive Richard for being mean to her best friend while Ciji was alive. He finally left Knots Landing for good, returning only for a funeral four years later. Kenny and Ginger also left Knots Landing, with Kenny being offered a job in
Nashville . In the season finale, the characters prepared for Gary’s trial, while Lilimae discovered Chip’s real identity. However, Diana and Chip had already skipped town, leaving Karen shocked and in tears.
25 Episodes (76–100)
Nielsen Ranking: #11
Produced by: Peter Dunne
In the season premiere, Gary was acquitted of Ciji’s murder. Meanwhile, Valene began dating reporter Ben Gibson. Diana married Chip while on the run with him. Even though Chip confessed to Diana that he’d killed Ciji, the state had no case without her
Testimony . When it looked as though Chip would walk, Lilimae took matters into her own hands by running down Chip with her car. Meanwhile, a relative of Abby and Sid's died, and both she and Karen received a land
Inheritance at Lotus Point, California. Abby then secretly formed Apolune Corp., a subsidiary of Gary’s company, forcing her enemy Laura, whom Gary hired for her expertise in real estate and to keep an eye on Abby, to look the other way as she broke the rules. Abby convinced Gary to marry her in order to get half of his 10% inheritance of Ewing Oil. However, before marrying Abby, Gary first slept with Valene one last time. By the time Valene discovered she was pregnant (with twins!), she was in love with Ben, but he couldn’t take the fact that she was pregnant with another man’s babies and they broke up.
Abby hired Ciji’s look alike Cathy as a farmhand to keep Gary occupied so he wouldn’t know about her crooked business practices, but when Chip saw Cathy, he thought he was seeing a ghost and freaked out, falling on a pitchfork. The ordeal with Diana, who now refused to talk to Karen, caused Karen to become progressively more depressed, and she began becoming addicted to pain killers. State
Senator Greg Sumner, who was running for US Senator, received the endorsements of Mack and Karen, as well as Abby, who wanted to buy herself a senator. Greg hired Mack to lead his Senate Crime Commission investigating the crooked Wolfbridge Group, and when Abby convinced Greg to get her an illegal land
Variance to build on Lotus Point, Greg pinned it on Mack, ending the 20-year
Friendship of Greg and Mack permanently.
Meanwhile, Wolfbridge forced Abby to let them become her partners in the development of Lotus Point. When Mack discovered that Apolune owned all the land in Lotus Point, except Karen and Abby’s inheritances, he thought Apolune was a division of Wolfbridge. However, Laura finally confessed that Appolune was Abby’s company. When Gary discovered this, he decided to
Divorce Abby in a violent rage. She ran to Greg, who was in bed with Laura. When Mack faked Gary’s death to get Wolfbridge, Karen left him, believing his obsession with Wolfbridge had cost her everything. In the exciting season finale (and one-hundredth episode), Mack tried to trick Mark St. Claire (
Joseph Chapman ), the head of the Wolfbridge Group, into attempting to shoot Gary, but St. Claire’s
Assassin hit Karen instead. Abby was kidnapped by the Wolfbridge Group when they realized they had failed.
30 episodes (101–130)
Nielsen Ranking: #9
Produced by: Peter Dunne/Lawrence Kasha
Greg Sumner killed Mark St. Claire, who was holding Abby (whose
Hair miraculously lost six inches despite the fact that the season 6 premiere was set immediately after the season 5 finale)
Hostage on a
Boat . After being shot, Karen, when faced with the same surgery predicament as Sid, declined to be operated upon, and was given 6 months to live. Lilimae’s son Joshua, whom she’d abandoned as a baby, came to live with her and Valene. He began dating Cathy, who’d moved in with Laura.
When Gary purchased Ben’s
Television Station , Abby began running it. One night, she was reading Ben’s notes, and found one addressed to Valene. She was shocked to learn that Gary was the father of Valene’s babies. Abby told Scott Easton (
Jack Bannon ), a man working for Lotus Point, about her issue, and he had Valene’s babies kidnapped after their birth (without Abby’s
Knowledge or
Consent .) Valene was told that the babies were stillborn, and when she insisted that she’d heard them
Crying , nobody believed her. Valene, heartbroken over the loss, left Knots Landing for Tennessee, where she developed
Psychosomatic Amnesia , calling herself Verna Ellers (a character from one of her novels) and becoming a
Waitress . Meanwhile; Gary, Karen, and Abby (who was forgiven by Gary for her season 5 scheming) agreed to become partners in Lotus Point.
Karen refused to take Mack back, but did so on Gary’s insistence after she confided to him that she was dying. Mack convinced Karen to have the surgery correcting her back problem, and she came out without a scratch. Meanwhile,
Industrialist Paul Galveston befriended Gary, and offered Gary a chance to develop on Empire Valley, a large piece of
Real Estate . Gary agreed, and soon began
Construction . Galveston died, however, leaving his company to Greg Sumner, who was revealed as Galveston’s son. Assuming he would inherit Empire Valley, Greg resigned from the Senate. Unfortunately for Greg, Galveston left it to Gary. Greg’s mother Ruth Galveston paid him an extended
Visit . She took a liking to Abby and paid Abby to pretend to have slept with Greg in order to break Greg and Laura up.
Cathy and Joshua married, though on their song, ranked as the #1 program for the week in the Nielsens.
30 episodes (131–160)
Nielsen Ranking: #17
Supervising Producer: David Paulsen
Produced by: Lawrence Kasha
In the season premiere, Valene waited restlessly outside the house of the couple who had her babies. She (and the audience) didn’t have to wait long; the babies were returned to her in episode 2. Valene and Ben agreed to raise the babies together, and they married. Also married this year were Laura and Greg, whose estrangement ended when he convinced her that his mother was out of their lives for good. Empire Valley went awry when Gary discovered that Galveston Industries and its partners were secretly building an underground
Espionage operation there. Gary blew up Empire Valley to stop this and ceased his development there. Gary blamed Abby, who had helped Greg and gone behind his back. This proved to be the last straw for the Ewing marriage, and Gary informed Abby at the end of the season that he would divorce her.
Meanwhile, Gary rocked the boat for the Gibsons as he bequeathed part of Empire Valley to Val's kids Bobby and Betsy, who were being raised as Ben's children. Peter Hollister became Greg’s new secretary, and Jill Bennett became Mack’s new colleague. These two characters initially had nothing to do with one another but it was ultimately revealed that they were siblings of a family that had been swindled by Paul Galveston and wanted revenge. Jill abandoned her side of the plan when she fell in love with the now-single Gary, while Peter, in going through Greg’s files, discovered a woman named Sylvia Lean who’d been receiving monthly payments from Galveston Industries for over 20 years. She had given birth to Galveston’s now-deceased son, whom Peter pretended to be, demanding compensation from Greg. Abby discovered the truth and demanded 51% of Peter’s compensation in return for keeping it
Secret , but when Peter discovered that Abby had known that Valene’s babies had been kidnapped from the start, he used this against her.
Joshua became increasingly violent and abusive toward Cathy, who left him. Not wanting to lose her, he decided that they should die together. He proceeded to try to throw Cathy off of a tall building, but Lilimae arrived in time to stop him. She disowned Joshua, and he stumbled, shocked. He proceeded to fall of the roof and a sad Lilimae spent the rest of the season
Mourning him, while Cathy moved on to Ben, whose marriage to Valene was failing due to the continued threat of Gary, who by then knew that he was the father of her twins. Ben cheated with Cathy and in the season finale, prepared to leave Valene and go on a singing tour with her as her manager. Meanwhile, a beautiful young girl named Paige Matheson arrived at Mack’s door claiming to be his daughter. If that wasn’t enough of a shock for him, his wife Karen didn’t come home from work at Lotus Point that night. She had "just disappeared."
30 episodes (161–190)
Nielsen Ranking: #26
Produced by: Lawrence Kasha
Karen's kidnapper turned out to be Phil Harbert (
Louis Giambalvo ), an old friend of Greg's and Mack's who was bitter toward Mack, whom he blamed for having caused the death of his wife. Mack suspected Greg for the
Kidnapping , but ultimately believed that Greg had nothing to do with it. Ben returned to Valene and promised to make their marriage work, however this promise was compromised when he was contacted by Jean Hackney, who had once tricked Ben into doing a mission for an underground
Organization . This organization wanted Ben to kill Greg Sumner, and when Ben and Valene’s children were threatened, he finally agreed to do this. Luckily, he didn’t succeed, although Jean Hackney’s insistence on following him meant that he had to flee the country and leave Valene at the end of the season. Laura refused to forgive Valene for Ben's plan to kill Greg and ended their friendship.
Laura announced to Greg that she was pregnant. He didn’t want the baby, but upon the birth of their daughter, discovered that he wanted to be a father after all. Speaking of new fathers, Mack had a difficult time handling Paige, who moved in with the Mackenzies and seduced Karen’s son Michael. When Karen discovered Paige Matheson was dead, Paige told the Mackenzies she’d faked her own death in order to escape her overbearing, rich grandparents. Paige’s mother (and Mack’s first love) Anne arrived in Knots Landing to be with her daughter, whom she’d believed dead for a whole year. Anne moved in to Laura’s house on the cul-de-sac, which was up for
Rent after Laura decided to move in with her husband Greg. Anne attempted to seduce Mack, but ultimately failed. She left Knots Landing, dejected, and after a year of
Instability the Mackenzie marriage came out stronger.
Meanwhile, Abby’s daughter Olivia became increasingly rebellious, turning to
Drugs . When her drug dealer beat up her younger brother Brian, she gave all her drugs to Abby, who then encouraged her daughter’s friendship with Peter Hollister. Olivia’s friendship turned to crush. However, Peter was only interested in Paige, who also took a job at Lotus Point. At the end of the season, Abby walked out of the bathroom drying her hands, and found Olivia standing over Peter’s bloody body. They both assumed the other had killed him, and Abby shooed Olivia away from the scene. She hid Peter’s
Corpse under the soil where cement was to be poured the next day. In the final scene of the season, Karen informed Abby that there was a crack in the
Cement , and it would probably have to be re-poured.
29 episodes (191–219)
Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Produced by: Lawrence Kasha/Mary-Catherine Harold
A melancholy Laura extended the
Olive Branch to Valene at Karen's insistence. It was revealed that Paige was the one who’d accidentally caused the death of Peter. No charges were brought against her, but Abby swore that she would make Paige pay for having framed Olivia for the crime. Laura revealed to Greg that she was dying of cancer. Greg refused to accept it, and Laura left him to go to a clinic, where she died. Laura’s
Funeral brought the return of Richard, who moved his and Laura’s sons back to the east
Coast with him and his new wife. Mack got drunk at Laura's funeral (although Valene, angry that Karen had hidden from her the news of Laura's pending death, informed him that he was the only one who thought he was being cute.) Greg was left to raise Meg, his daughter with Laura. When Karen and Mack, who was in the midst of a
Mid-life Crisis , offered to adopt the child, Greg reluctantly agreed.
Paige began to work for Greg as his personal assistant, and began to find herself increasingly attracted to him. Lilimae left Knots Landing after falling in love, and Valene was left without her or Ben. Gary therefore took an increased interest in their
Twins . Valene’s resistance to this was an annoyance to Jill, who was living with Gary and didn’t like him paying attention to anybody except for her. Jill made an elaborate plan where she edited
Audio recordings of Ben’s voice to make Valene think Ben was trying to contact her. She also had forged letters made promising a return. Jill then stole the tapes of Ben’s messages and the letters, leaving Valene with no proof when she tried telling people. Jill then, while on a business trip in
San Francisco , secretly drove back to Knots Landing and forced Valene to take a whole bottle of sleeping pills in order to make it look like Valene had killed herself.
After Laura’s death, Frank and Pat Williams and their daughter Julie moved onto the cul-de-sac. Mack and Karen were suspicious of them at first, but became their friends upon discovering they were actually in the Witness Protection Program. Business at Lotus Point began to slow down, and Karen, Gary, and Abby agreed to expand the marina to accommodate the business of Manny Vasquez (
John Aprea ). Meanwhile, Paige, Michael, and Paige’s boyfriend Johnny Rourke went on an
Archaeological Dig in
Mexico . When it became apparent that Manny Vasquez was selling drugs through Lotus Point, its owners tried to stop him. He told them that Paige and Michael would not re-enter the United States until he was allowed to conduct business at Lotus Point.
28 episodes (220–247)
Nielsen Ranking: #27
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha
Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Nobody believed Valene when she said that Jill had tried to kill her. Jill had a solid alibi, for she had slipped drugs into a man’s drink and brought him to her hotel room. He passed out, but she was there when he woke up the next
Morning so he suspected nothing. Jill had actually left for Knots Landing during the night. When the man got an
STD and Jill and Gary’s tests turned up negative, Gary decided to do some investigating. He discovered that the man remembered nothing of the night he had supposedly slept with Jill. Finally, everybody believed Valene’s story. Jill was left friendless, and she tied herself up and put herself in Gary’s trunk so he’d be framed for trying to kill her. Jill actually did die, unfortunately, and Gary was suspected for her
Death . Luckily, Mack was able to get the charges dropped (as he had done with Paige a season earlier.)
A
Con Artist tried to extort money from Frank and Pat by threatening to reveal their
Location to the men who had threatened Pat's life when she testified against them. Mack halted the con artist, and used dental records from a deceased family to make the men believe that the Sollars
Family (the original identity of the Williamses) was dead. The young crowd was able to get out of Mexico, and Manny Vasquez’s nephew Harold Dyer (who was also dating Abby’s daughter Olivia) killed his uncle when his uncle tried to kill Mack. Paige seduced Greg and the two began dating. Unfortunately, Greg wanted to become
Mayor of
Los Angeles and he realized the much-younger Paige would not make a good political wife. He asked Abby to marry him instead, and Abby got her revenge against the broken-hearted Paige, who kept her job at Greg’s
Company nonetheless.
Mack had another mid-life crisis and quit his job, opening a private practice. Meanwhile, continued tough times at Lotus Point meant that it had to be sold. Abby was thrilled to discover that there was
Oil underneath Lotus Point, and secretly created the Murakame Corporation, which she told her colleagues was Japanese so they wouldn’t know she was the one buying out Lotus Point. Paige discovered that it was just a front, and Abby barely avoided being brought up on fraud charges. She left Greg (and Knots Landing) for a job in Japan, singing “
Don’t Worry, Be Happy ” in the limousine as she pulled away, unpunished for her various evil deeds during her nine-season tenure.
29 episodes (248–276) Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Valene and Gary became involved with divorced couple Danny and Amanda Waleska, respectively. Danny had beaten and raped Amanda (
Penny Peyser ), but Valene was uncharacteristically blind to this. Valene proclaimed that she loved Danny more than she’d ever loved Gary or Ben. As Danny became more and more abusive and distant, Valene finally realized the
Truth , and proceeded to kick him out of her house. Meanwhile, Paige fell in love with Tom Ryan, a
Dirty Cop . The two planned on getting married, but on the day of their wedding, Tom became a “
Runaway Groom .” Instead, Gary proposed to Valene, who accepted. Karen started a
Talk Show , but began to be stalked by what seemed to be an obsessed fan. It was actually one of her producers, who had been put up to it by another producer Dianne Kirkwood (
Robin Strasser ) who couldn’t stand Karen. Karen’s stalker was ultimately put to justice when his
Accomplice betrayed him. Danny refused to give up on Valene, and one night while drunk driving on the cul-de-sac, he ran down Pat Williams.
Olivia married Harold, but they had monetary woes due to Olivia’s mother Abby's choice to cut Olivia off financially upon her move to Japan. They left the show mid-season, before Olivia had a chance to scheme for money as her mother had. Karen’s son Eric left his wife Linda at the Mackenzie household. Linda carried on with Eric’s brother Michael, then proceeded to divorce Eric. She was shown the door at the Mackenzie household. Paige’s mother Anne returned to Knots Landing penniless, and took up with Greg. Meanwhile, Greg’s daughter Mary Frances visited him after a 6-year
Estrangement between them. She had been involved in underground crime rings, and was murdered.
27 episodes (277–303)
Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Lawrence Kasha
Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold/Lynn Marie Latham/Bernard Lechowick
Frank had Pat’s life support disconnected and she died. Greg’s sister Claudia and his
Niece Kate (who looked exactly like the late Mary Frances) moved to Knots Landing as talented
Tennis player Kate began attending college. Kate met Steve, a man claiming to be her
Brother , at school, and it was revealed that Steve, who had been put up for
Adoption by Claudia, was the product of a tryst between Claudia and Paul Galveston. When Claudia planted a gun on former felon Steve and he fled from the police, the police shot and killed Steve. Mack took a liking to a high schooler named Jason Lochner (
Thomas Wilson Brown ), who, it was revealed, was being beaten by his father. Mack, in yet another mid-life crisis, regained the memories of his own physical
Abuse at the hands of his father, and took Jason into the Mackenzie
Household .
Valene and Gary got together and were briefly happy after Danny’s murder (by Julie, as revenge for her mother’s death), but a fall off a
Horse led to a campy storyline where Valene went
Insane . After a season of irrational behavior (most notably frying the twins’ pet
Hermit Crab s) Valene was miraculously cured, and she proceeded to marry Gary. Anne met Italian Nick Schillace, with whom she both fell in love and spent the season scheming. Ultimately, their plans all backfired, and in the season finale, Anne was left homeless. Meanwhile, Paige and Linda competed at the Sumner Group (the re-named Galveston Industries), and when Linda started sleeping with Greg, it became about more than just money.
22 episodes (304–325)
Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: John Romano (ep. 304–318)
Supervising Producer: Joseph Hardy
Senior Producer: Ann Marcus (ep. 319–325)
Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold
Kate blamed Claudia for Steve's death and cut her mother out of her life, but they reconciled after Claudia took an overdose of pills. After Nick left her, Anne was left homeless and bankrupt, wanting to be rich more than ever. She started an advice show on night-time radio which became a smash hit. Linda was murdered by the crazy Brian Johnston, who then proceeded to hold the Mackenzies hostage for an entire episode. Jason left the Mackenzie household for a program in
Sweden while Julie left Knots Landing for the east coast. Frank dated Debbie Porter (played by the then-unknown
Halle Berry ).
Gary invested in a project that turned
Tidal Wave s into usable electric energy. The man behind it, Joseph Barringer (
Mark Soper ) became Kate’s boyfriend. Paige, who felt it was a good idea, joined Gary, along with her new boyfriend Pierce. A former flame of Pierce's, Victoria Broyelard (
Marcia Cross ), showed up and revealed that Pierce had killed his previous girlfriend. Unfortunately for Paige, she didn’t believe it. Paige was shot by Pierce (aiming for Greg, whom he hated) and temporarily paralyzed, giving a delusional Pierce (who thought she was the previous, pregnant girlfriend he’d already killed) a chance to kidnap her. Mack and Greg rescued Paige and Pierce was arrested. Alex Barth (
Boyd Kestner ), the nephew of the Galvestons'
Housekeeper , turned up and
Blackmail ed Claudia over the fact that she refused to help her ailing mother with her
Medication and thus allowed her to die, but Claudia came clean to Greg, saying that she wanted to end their mother's
Pain . Claudia disliked Joseph and asked Greg to get him a job away from Kate. When this happened, Gary, who had tied up all his money in Tidal Energy, was left bankrupt. Valene attempted to console him, and the two of them spent the rest of the season enjoying a happy marriage. Unfortunately, Valene was given an assignment. She was to write a
Biography on Greg Sumner. Mary Robeson (
Maree Cheatham ) told Valene that she was Meg’s grandmother, as she was Laura’s biological mother. Valene refused to believe it, and when she investigated Mary Robeson further, she was kidnapped in
Florida .
19 episodes (326–344)
Nielsen Ranking: Not in Top 30
Co-Executive Producer: Barbara Corday
Supervising Producer: Ann Marcus
Produced by: Mary-Catherine Harold
Gary believed Valene dead when he saw a car with her in it blow up. Greg attempted at the end of season 13 to retire from the Sumner Group, leaving one-third to Claudia, one-third to Paige, and one-third to Mack and Karen (in a trust for Meg.) However, Anne’s surprise pregnancy by him prompted him to return to Knots Landing to marry here. When Anne discovered she had suffered from
Hysterical Pregnancy , her marriage to Greg became miserable. Anne was finally rich, but unhappy. She longed for Nick, who had returned to Knots Landing. When Mack sought out $1,000,000 from Claudia under the table to bribe Mary Robeson to stop seeking custody of Meg, Claudia gave him only $500,000 and gave the rest to Nick to start a restaurant. When Paige demanded an audit, Claudia had to ask Nick for the $500,000 back. Unfortunately, Nick had already spent it and attained for Claudia $500,000 from a different source. It turned out a man named Nigel Treadwell (
Daniel Gerroll ) and his mysterious partner had been trying to take over the Sumner Group with this $500,000. Karen didn’t believe Mack would do something like that and left him, staying with Diana in
New York City .
In the two-hour series finale that aired on CBS back on May 13th 1993, Karen returned to Mack, and Nick’s accomplice Vanessa Hunt (
Felicity Waterman ) killed Treadwell, paving the way for Valene to return to Gary. Treadwell’s partner was revealed as none other than Abby, who, returning for the first time in four years, told Greg that she would be taking over the Sumner Group. Unfortunately, Abby was left with nothing as Greg threatened to reveal her dirty dealings in Japan. Tom, in charge of the
Investigation of Mary Robeson’s murder (it was her brother,) and Paige began falling in love again. In the finale, however, Anne offered Greg a divorce and he was free to get back together with Paige, finally. Claudia and Anne both coincidentally made plans to go to Monaco, and on the way to the airplane, they fought over Nick. In the final scene, a new couple moved onto the cul-de-sac in Frank’s old house. "It’s probably their first house," mused Valene, who had miraculously survived her year-long kidnapping in Florida. Gary went to get
Charcoal for the fire, when another car pulled up. To his surprise, Abby got out of it! She informed Mack, Karen, Gary, and Valene that she’d bought Claudia’s house (which had been hers when she lived on the cul-de-sac.) Valene rushed Gary away from Abby as Mack went to start cooking. Abby was left with Karen, to whom she proclaimed, "Just like old times, isn’t it?"
;
Ted Shackelford as Garrison Arthur "Gary" Ewing.
:The son of Jock and Ellie Ewing, first introduced in the TV series Dallas. Gary, the middle Ewing son between JR and Bobby, was the family black sheep.
;
Joan Van Ark as Valene "Val" Clements Ewing Ewing Gibson Waleska Ewing (1979-1992, 1993).
:The love of Gary's life, and the mother, with Gary, of Dallas' Lucy Ewing (
Charlene Tilton ).
;
Michele Lee as Karen Cooper Fairgate MacKenzie.
:Valene's neighbor, and best friend. First married to Sid Fairgate, later to Mack McKenzie. The mother of Diana, Eric and Michael Fairgate.
;
Don Murray as William Sidney Fairgate (1979-1981).
:Karen's first husband, and the owner of Knots Landing Motors. Sid was killed when his car was sabotaged.
;
John Pleshette as Richard Avery (1979-1983, 1987).
:A
Lawyer , and a cruel, shallow man. Unhappily married to Laura, he struggled to assert himself after she launched a successful career in real-estate.
;
Constance McCashin as Laura Avery Sumner (1979-1987).
:The wife of Richard Avery, and later, Greg Sumner. She was a real estate agent. She died of cancer.
;
James Houghton as Kenny Ward (1979-1983).
:A record producer who at first cheated on his wife Ginger, but reformed upon the birth of their daughter Erin Molly.
;
Kim Lankford as Ginger Ward (1979-1983).
:A kindergarten teacher who wanted to be a singer, she was jealous of her husband's involvement in Ciji Dunne's career.
;
Claudia Lonow as Diana Fairgate Fenice (1979-1984, 1993).
:Karen's daughter who fell in love with the evil Chip (
Michael Sabatino ). She left Knots Landing to study in New York City.
;
Patrick Petersen as Michael Fairgate (1979-1991).
:Karen's son who would grow up to have an affair with his brother Eric's wife, Linda.
;
Donna Mills as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner (1980-1989, 1993).
:Sid's sister, and the neighborhood troublemaker. She destroyed Gary and Val's marriage, and married Gary herself.
;
Tonya Crowe as Olivia Cunningham Dyer (1980-1990).
:Abby's rebellious daughter who became addicted to cocaine.
;
Julie Harris as Lilimae Clements (1980, 1981-1987).
:Valene's mother who moved in with Valene and proceeded thereafter to interfere with her daughter's life.
;
Kevin Dobson as Marion Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie (1982-1993).
:Karen's second husband. He was an attorney who worked for the governor before opening his own private practice.
;
Lisa Hartman as Ciji Dunne (1982-1983)/Cathy Geary Rush (1983-1986).
:Ciji and Cathy were both singers. Almost everyone in Knots Landing was suspect for Ciji's murder. Next season, Ciji's
Doppelganger Cathy Geary showed up after being released from prison.
;
Douglas Sheehan as Ben Gibson (1983-1987).
:Valene's second husband. He was a journalist at Abby's television station.
;
William Devane as Greg Sumner (1983-1993).
:Initially a politician, Greg became a businessman after inheriting the corporation of his father (
Howard Duff ). Greg schemed with or against Abby most of the time.
;
Alec Baldwin as Joshua Rush (1984-1985).
:Lilimae's son who was abandoned by her as a baby. He came on Knots Landing as a rather innocent young preacher. After marrying Cathy, he became extremely violent and eventually went crazy, dying after accidentally falling off a roof.
;
Teri Austin as Jill Bennett (aka Dorothy Simpkins) (1985-1989).
:Gary's mistress who died accidentally, stuffing herself in his trunk so it would seem like he'd tried kidnapping her.
;
Nicollette Sheridan as Paige Matheson. (1986-1993).
:Karen's step-daughter, she engaged in a May/December romance with Greg Sumner.
;
Michelle Phillips as Anne Winston Matheson Sumner (1987, 1989, 1990-1993).
:Paige's mother and Mack's first love, she competed with her daughter for Greg's affections.
;
Larry Riley as Frank Williams (1988-1992)
:Frank moved to Knots Landing with his wife Pat and daughter Julie as part of the witness protection program. He eventually took a job in Mack's lawfirm.
;
Kathleen Noone as Claudia Whittaker (1990-1993)
:Greg Sumner's sister, who moved to town under the guise of accompanying her daughter for college; in reality, she wanted to meddle in Greg's affairs.
;
Stacy Galina as Kate Whittaker (1990-1993)
:Claudia's daughter who resembled Greg's late daughter Mary Frances. She was a tennis player, but after Gary Ewing caused her arm to break (thus ruining her career) she set her sights on him.
;
Steve Shaw as Eric Fairgate (1979-1987, 1989-1990)
;
Bobby Jacoby as Brian Cunningham #1 (1980-1985)
;
Stephen Macht as Joe Cooper (1981-1982)
;
Michael Sabatino as Chip Roberts (aka Tony Fenice) (1982-1983)
;
Joanna Pettet as Detective Janet Baines (1983)
;
Danielle Brisebois as Mary-Frances Sumner #1 (1983-(1984)
;
Hunt Block as Peter Hollister (1985-1987)
;
Brian Austin Green as Brian Cunningham #2 (1986-1989)
;
Wendy Fulton as Jean Hackney (1986-1987)
;
Joshua Devane as Young Greg Sumner (1986-1987; 1990)
;
Lar Park Lincoln as Linda Fairgate (1987, 1989-1991)
;
Peter Reckell as Johnny Rourke (1988-1989)
;
Lynne Moody as Pat Williams (1988-1990)
;
Kent Masters-King as Julie Williams (1988-1991)
;
Paul Carafotes as Harold Dyer (1988-1990)
;
Melinda Culea as Paula Vertosick (1988-1990)
;
Robert Desiderio as Ted Melcher (1988-1989)
;
Sam Behrens as Danny Waleska (1989-1990)
;
Joseph Gian as Tom Ryan (1989-1991, 1993)
;
Lorenzo Caccialanza as Nick Schillace (1990-1991, 1992-1993)
;
Bruce Greenwood as Pierce Lawton (1991-1992)
Famous Guest stars include:
The actors had more input than actors on other 1980s primetime soaps. In 1987, the writers wanted Mack (Kevin Dobson) to have an extramarital affair with Anne (Michelle Phillips.) Michele Lee, who played Mack's wife Karen, protested this to David Jacobs, saying, "There has to be one stable couple on the show." [http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html] The extramarital affair storyline was nixed, and Michelle Phillips, who had been signed to a contract, was written out for a few seasons before returning in 1990. When she did return, Anne did not pursue Mack. William Devane, who played Greg Sumner, re-wrote most of his character's dialogue, to the point where, in co-star Michele Lee's words, "most people (on set) were (probably) frightened of him." [http://www.knotslandingonline.com/michele_lee_interview.html] The Gary/Val/Abby triangle that provided story throughout the mid-1980s was suggested by Ted Shackelford and Joan van Ark in 1980, and the producers hesitated for a year and a half before going through with it in 1982. [http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html] The famous 1984 storyline where Valene's babies got kidnapped was originally envisioned as one of scheming Abby's plots. Donna Mills, who played Abby, acknowledged that her character was evil but didn't think she was that evil. Fearing the audience would never forgive her character for kidnapping another woman's babies, she asked the writers to make Abby cause the kidnappings by accident, and the writers complied.
The writing team of Bernard Lechowick and
Lynn Marie Latham (the head writers from 1986 to 1991) was controversial among both fans and actors. Their humor-imbued style of writing made them the favorites of Michele Lee, while John Pleshette felt they were "awful people." [http://www.knotslandingonline.com/john_pleshette_interview.html] Joan van Ark, whose character was struck by a brain illness in season 12 and proceeded to thereafter go crazy, felt that Latham and Lechowick had turned her character into the "village idiot." Joan van Ark and Donna Mills' favorite "Knots Landing" writer was Peter Dunne, [http://www.knotslandingonline.com/joan_van_ark_interview.html] who was responsible for making Knots Landing a top ten show in 1984.
In 1987, CBS demanded that production costs be cut. This meant the firing of two regulars, Constance McCashin and Julie Harris. Season 13 saw a large ratings drop for the show after creator David Jacobs had a health crisis and pulled back his involvement in production. Jacobs has publicly stated that the way he knew the show was in trouble was when waitresses at his favorite diner, whom he had heard gossiping about Knots Landing every Friday during past seasons, suddenly stopped discussing the show in late 1991. He attempted to save face by shutting down production on November 20, 1991
{Link without Title} , firing head writer
John Romano , and replacing him with
Ann Marcus . Cost cutting again plagued the series in its final season, when only 19 episodes were produced, and regular characters did not appear in each episode. In one episode in the final season, only 3 of the 8 season 14 regulars appeared. Not wanting to compromise what he felt had been a good run, series creator David Jacobs described its end as a "mutual" decision between Knots Landing's producers and the CBS Network, saying, "We don't know if they would have picked us up anyway...but even if they had, we would have had to pare away more to
survive."
Knots Landing's background music was always a very important part of the show. The theme song, which lasted all 14 seasons (being updated each season to stay with the times), was composed by
Jerrold Immel . Immel, along with
Craig Huxley composed the background music for the pilot. The original background music cues by Immel and Huxley were never fully abandoned by the show, and were heard as late as the final season. The early Knots Landing background music cues heavily emphasized the
Brass section, and were often played with a very sparse bass line accompaniment.
By season 4 of Knots Landing, the lushness of the 1980s was in full swing and Knots Landing's background cues reflected that style. The new dramatic cues emphasized full orchestral arrangements as formerly middle class Knots Landing became upwardly mobile. The background music of seasons 4–7 was frequently composed by either
Lance Rubin or
Ron Grant .
Season 8 introduced a completely new score for "Knots Landing." By 1986 this time
New Wave artists and bands had taken America by storm and the new style of music cues made good use of the
Synthesizer instead of a full orchestra.
Bruce Miller was one of the main composers during this era. Updated orchestrations of the by-then-familiar Lance Rubin cues were also re-arranged to be played by the synthesizer, and the Immel/Huxley cues were similarly utilized, albeit less commonly.
In the early 1990s,
Soft Contemporary Acoustic music became popular and Knots Landing began incorporating this into its background music during season 12. Lance Rubin's music cues were completely phased out at this point.
Patrick Gleeson and
Kennard Ramsey composed during this period.
Knots Landing ran five completely different styles of opening credits over its 14 years, in contrast to
Dynasty , which stuck to the same style, and
Dallas , which changed in its final seasons to a variation on its original style.
The original opening credits of Knots Landing were used only in seasons 1 and 2. These credits were designed by
Wayne Fitzgerald . In an overhead view of the cul-de-sac, the camera zooms into the houses which are shown with their occupants. Then clips of the cast members play inside of the paved section of the cul-de-sac as they are credited.
In season 3, the opening credits were changed. In what is probably the best-remembered introduction to the show,
Gene Kraft 's "scrolling credits" incorporated various clips of the show. Against a black background, scenes of each regular character scrolled from right to left across the screen. Each character received one big box that showed that character in a scene alone, accompanied by 3 or 4 smaller boxes showing that character with other characters.
The opening credits for seasons 9 and 10 featured the camera panning slowly over a painting done by
Sandy Dvore . The painting showcased splattered blotches of paint, and was similar to the style of
Jackson Pollack . As the camera moved over the painting, the actors posed inside of small ovular boxes. Season 9 portraits were cold, some might say pretentious, black and white studio shots. In Season 10 they were dropped in favor of color close-ups taken from the show. Complementing these new opening credits was a more demure, sophisticated sounding theme song.
In season 11, the show broke with tradition in its new credits designed by
Castle/Bryant/Johnsen . Season 11's opening credits featured no clips of the actor's faces. This sequence shows a beach on which there are sandcastles that resemble the houses of the cul-de-sac, as well as some skyscrapers representing Los Angeles. The camera twists through this sandcastle community as the actors' names come on screen with no accompanying headshots.
The final opening credits, used during seasons 12, 13, and 14, were a return to tradition. Also designed by
Castle/Bryant/Johnsen , these credits paid homage to the famous scrolling credits by Gene Kraft. The two were very similar, since both featured clips of the actors moving from right to left across the screen. However, this version was designed to be "safe" for the 1990s. The boxes featuring the clips had colored "frames" around them, and the boxes were all different shaped rectangles. In addition, the "clip boxes" in this version all move at different speeds, while the Kraft opening credits had them all moving at the same speed.
. Actors from left to right: Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, Don Murray, Michele Lee, Constance McCashin and John Pleshette.]]
''Knots Landing'' is now available on
DVD with the release of the first season on
March 28 ,
2006 .
The 5-disc DVD set includes all 13 episodes from season one, audio commentary by stars Ted Shackleford and Joan Van Ark, a behind the scenes featurette, and some exclusive cast and crew interviews.
On the other hand, only one video release is out, which is in a VHS version.
Knots Landing's signature cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle, was actually Crystalaire Place in
Granada Hills ,
California .
- Kenny Ward (Seasons 1–4)
- Ginger Ward (Seasons 1–4)
- Erin Molly Ward (Seasons 3–4)
- Abby Cunningham (Seasons 2–4, reunion)
- Brian Cunningham (Seasons 2–4)
- Olivia Cunningham (Seasons 2–4)
- Gary Ewing (Season 4)
- Claudia Whittaker (Seasons 12–14)
- Kate Whittaker (Season 12)
- Alex Barth (Season 13)
- Richard Avery (Seasons 1–4)
- Laura Avery (Seasons 1–8)
- Jason Avery (Seasons 1–8)
- Daniel Avery (Seasons 4–8)
- Cathy Geary (Seasons 6, 7)
- Anne Matheson (Season 8)
- Patricia Williams (Seasons 9–11)
- Frank Williams (Seasons 9-13)
- Julie Williams (Seasons 9-13)
- Karen Fairgate Mackenzie (Seasons 1-14, reunion)
- Sid Fairgate (Seasons 1-3)
- Diana Fairgate (Seasons 1-4)
- Michael Fairgate (Seasons 1-12)
- Eric Fairgate (Seasons 1-9)
- Mack Mackenzie (Seasons 4-14, reunion)
- Mary Frances Sumner (Season 5)
- Paige Matheson (Seasons 8-10, 13)
- Linda Fairgate (Season 11)
- Meg Mackenzie (Seasons 9-14, reunion)
- Jason Lochner (Seasons 12-13)
- Gary Ewing (Seasons 1-3, 13-14, reunion)
- Valene Ewing (Seasons 1-13, reunion)
- Lilimae Clements (Seasons 3-9)
- Chip Roberts (Season 4)
- Joshua Rush (Seasons 6-7)
- Cathy Geary (Seasons 6-7)
- Bobby Ewing (Seasons 7-14, reunion)
- Betsy Ewing (Seasons 7-14, reunion)
- Ben Gibson (Seasons 7-8)
- Aunt Ginny (Seasons 10-12)
- Danny Waleska (Seasons 11-12)
magazine.]]
,
Ted Shackelford and
Joan Van Ark on the cover of
TV Guide magazine.]]
- The "Knots" in the title comes from the expression "tying the knot" since the show was originally about marriage. The "Landing" comes from the fact that David Jacobs felt like the cul-de-sac looked like someplace to land.
- The location of the cul-de-sac was Crystalaire Place in Granada Hills, CA. The site is actually far from the ocean: the opening credits during season 1 & 2 used special effects to "move" the cul-de-sac to a location near the beach.
- When Kevin Dobson came to ''Knots Landing'' at the beginning of season 4, he talked David Jacobs and Michael Filerman into creating the character's name of: M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, on which Dobson named that character after 2 of his children in real-life, his son's name is: Patrick, and his daughter's name is: Mariah.
- The season 5 cliffhanger featuring Karen being shot was added at the very last minute.
- Michele Lee was the only actor to appear in all 344 episodes of the series. In the final season, she voluntarily took a pay cut so she could be in every episode. Her character, Karen, was the only character to live on the cul-de-sac for the entire run of the show.
- Out of the ''Knots Landing'' cast, only Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark crossed over to big brother soap '' Dallas '' in 1980 (for J.R.'s shooting), 1981 (for Lucy's wedding to Mitch Cooper), 1982 (for the reading of Jock Ewing's will), and 1991 (in a J.R.'s dream sequence, where Gary is a lawyer consulting Val as a client.)
- In the 1985 - 1986 season, Shackelford crossed over to Dallas for Bobby Ewing's funeral. On the 1986 Dallas season premiere, it was revealed that the entire past season (including Bobby's death) had been a dream. This issue was never addressed on "Knots Landing," and was the last time a direct link between the two shows existed.
- After the first season met with disappointing ratings, ''Knots Landing'''s creator David Jacobs , producer Michael Filerman and star Michele Lee all made the decision to hire Donna Mills as the show's first villainess. The reason is that they felt they needed to stir the pot and introduce a character like Dallas' J.R. Ewing. This was the first step in shifting the focus away from the original four couples.
- Actor John Pleshette wrote 9 episodes before leaving the show at the end of season 4. When interviewed by Art Swift in 2004, Pleshette said that he left the series due to the unwillingness of David Jacobs to let him direct episodes of the show. Pleshette would later go on to direct some episodes in the show's ninth and tenth seasons, in addition to reprising the role of Richard for a two episode stint in season 9.
- Between the fifth and thirteenth seasons of ''Knots Landing'', Ted Shackelford 's character owned a ranch, Westfork, compared to that of its parent series, '' Dallas '''s home, Southfork. The reason his character had owned a ranch is of the fact that Gary had been a Ewing, all of his life. In real-life, it is called Sandstone Horse Sales, a place for horse racing and breeding located in Thousand Oaks , California .
- Michele Lee hated the storyline about Karen's drug dependency at first, but the producers urged her to do it for 9 episodes, and she eventually saw its importance. This storyline got Lee an emmy nomination.
- In June of 2005, a primetime Reunion special was taped in which actors reminised about their work on the series. {Link without Title} It aired on December 2, 2005 on CBS.
